Time-resolved studies of interatomic Coulombic decay

Interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) is a decay mechanism occurring in loosely bound matter, e.g. in systems bound by van der Waals-forces or hydrogen bonds. In many such cases the decay time is similar to the time scale of nuclear motion during the decay. As the efficiency of ICD strongly depends on the internuclear distance of the atoms or molecules involved in the decay, an overall non-trivial temporal decay behavior arises. The progress of examining the time-domain aspects of interatomic Coulombic decay is summarized in this short topical review with a special emphasis on experiments that are now feasible due to the developments of free-electron lasers.