# Generation of attosecond electron beams in relativistic ionization by short laser pulses

## TL;DR

This paper investigates relativistic ionization by intense short laser pulses, revealing a new high-energy supercontinuum in photoelectron spectra that can generate attosecond electron pulses for advanced imaging techniques.

## Contribution

It uncovers a novel interference-free supercontinuum in high-energy photoelectrons, enabling the generation of attosecond electron beams from relativistic laser ionization.

## Key findings

- Discovery of a supercontinuum in high-energy photoelectron spectra.
- Sensitivity of the supercontinuum to laser intensity.
- Potential to produce attosecond electron pulses for ultrafast imaging.

## Abstract

Ionization by relativistically intense short laser pulses is studied in the framework of strong-field quantum electrodynamics. Distinctive patterns are found in the energy probability distributions of photoelectrons. Except of the already observed patterns, which were studied in Phys. Rev. A {\bf 94}, 013402 (2016), we discover an additional interference-free smooth supercontinuum in the high-energy portion of the spectrum, reaching tens of kiloelectronovolts. As we show, the latter is sensitive to the driving field intensity and it can be detected in a narrow polar-angular window. Once these high-energy electrons are collected, they can form solitary attosecond pulses. This is particularly important in light of various applications of attosecond electron beams such as in ultrafast electron diffraction and crystallography, or in time-resolved electron microscopy of physical, chemical, and biological processes.