Quantum Optical Electron Pulse Shaper

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical method for shaping free electron wave packets in the time domain using quantum phase modulation with coherent light, enabling ultrafast electron pulse control for advanced imaging.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to electron pulse shaping via quantum phase modulation, bridging a gap in ultrafast electron control techniques.

Findings

Achieves few femtosecond electron pulse durations without spectral broadening.

Enables high-resolution ultrafast imaging and diffraction with shaped electron pulses.

Demonstrates control over electron wave packet time-energy profiles.

Abstract

Coherent control of ultrafast quantum phenomena benefits from pulse-shaping capabilities allowing to modulate the envelope and instantaneous phase of optical fields on femtosecond time scales. While such control is available for optical fields, an analogy of a pulse shaper for freely propagating electrons is lacking. In this study, we theoretically demonstrate a method that enables near arbitrary light-based shaping of electron wave packets in the time domain. The method is based on the quantum phase modulation of electron waves by coherent light with time-dependent frequency leading to generation of spectrally separated electron energy side bands with shaped time-energy profiles and envelopes. Our results show that few femtosecond time durations can be achieved without additional spectral broadening of the electron wave packet, allowing one to reach the combination of high time, spatial, and spectral resolutions in ultrafast imaging and diffraction experiments with pulsed electron beams.