[Perspective] Timing photoemission—Final state matters
The photoemission of electrons from atoms, molecules, and condensed matter provides the experimental basis of our understanding of electronic structure. During the process of photoemission, a sufficiently large quantum of electromagnetic radiation (a photon) is absorbed by matter and converted into an electronic excitation, promoting a bound electron into a final state above the vacuum energy Evac. In photoemission spectroscopy, the kinetic energy and momentum of electrons in such final states are analyzed after their propagation to a distant detector. To determine the electronic structure of the sample, the “sudden approximation” has to be fulfilled, whereby the photoelectron leaves the sample fast enough, without further interaction with the remaining electronic structure. On page 62 of this issue, Tao et al. (1) provide unprecedented insight into final-state dynamics by measuring the time a photoelectron takes to leave a solid material for characteristically different final states. By comparing an electron excited to...