Generation of short hard X-ray pulses of tailored duration using a Mössbauer source

We theoretically investigate a scheme for generations of single hard X-ray pulses of controllable duration in the range of 1 ns - 100 ns from a radioactive Mössbauer source. The scheme uses a magnetically perturbed ⁵⁷FeBO₃ crystal illuminated with recoilless 14.4 keV photons from a radioisotope ⁵⁷Co nuclide. Such compact X-ray source is useful for the extension of quantum optics to 10 keV energy scale which has been spotlighted in recent years. So far, experimental achievements are mostly performed in synchrotron radiation facilities. However, tabletop and portable hard X-ray sources are still limited for time-resolved measurements and for implementing coherent controls over nuclear quantum optics systems. The availability of compact hard X-ray sources may become the engine to apply schemes of quantum information down to the subatomic scale. We demonstrate that the present method is versatile and provides an economic solution utilizing a Mössbauer source to perform time-resolved nuclear scattering, to produce suitable pulses for photon storage and to flexibly generate X-ray single-photon entanglement.