The coherence of light is fundamentally tied to the quantum coherence of the emitting particle

Karnieli, Aviv; Rivera, Nicholas; Arie, Ady; Kaminer, Ido

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abf8096

Cited by 52 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 99 publications

(198 reference statements)

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“…This argument can be equivalently formulated in terms of the recoil produced on the electron due to lateral momentum transfer and the respective loss or preservation of which way information in those two scenarios, depending on whether such transfer is larger or smaller than the momentum spread of the incident electron. 251 …”

Section: Quantum and Classical Effects Associated With The Free-elect...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Excitations with Electron Beams: Challenges and Opportunities

2021

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Free electron beams such as those employed in electron microscopes have evolved into powerful tools to investigate photonic nanostructures with an unrivaled combination of spatial and spectral precision through the analysis of electron energy losses and cathodoluminescence light emission. In combination with ultrafast optics, the emerging field of ultrafast electron microscopy utilizes synchronized femtosecond electron and light pulses that are aimed at the sampled structures, holding the promise to bring simultaneous sub-Å–sub-fs–sub-meV space–time–energy resolution to the study of material and optical-field dynamics. In addition, these advances enable the manipulation of the wave function of individual free electrons in unprecedented ways, opening sound prospects to probe and control quantum excitations at the nanoscale. Here, we provide an overview of photonics research based on free electrons, supplemented by original theoretical insights and discussion of several stimulating challenges and opportunities. In particular, we show that the excitation probability by a single electron is independent of its wave function, apart from a classical average over the transverse beam density profile, whereas the probability for two or more modulated electrons depends on their relative spatial arrangement, thus reflecting the quantum nature of their interactions. We derive first-principles analytical expressions that embody these results and have general validity for arbitrarily shaped electrons and any type of electron–sample interaction. We conclude with some perspectives on various exciting directions that include disruptive approaches to noninvasive spectroscopy and microscopy, the possibility of sampling the nonlinear optical response at the nanoscale, the manipulation of the density matrices associated with free electrons and optical sample modes, and appealing applications in optical modulation of electron beams, all of which could potentially revolutionize the use of free electrons in photonics.

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Section: Quantum and Classical Effects Associated With The Free-elect...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Excitations with Electron Beams: Challenges and Opportunities

2021

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“…see literature on cathodoluminescence 4,5 ), where only the light is measured. In contradiction with the prediction in Ref 1 , there is now strong evidence 2,6,7 that in the case of regular free-electron radiation with no electron post-selection, the radiation does not normally depend on the initial electron wavefunction, due to the underlying electron-photon entanglement leading to decoherence 8,9 . Fig.…”

Section: Modelling Of Spontaneous Emission By Free Electrons: the Rol...mentioning

confidence: 59%

Comment on “Nonlinear quantum effects in electromagnetic radiation of a vortex electron”

et al. 2022

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This comment on the Phys. Rev. A paper "Nonlinear quantum effects in electromagnetic radiation of a vortex electron" by Karlovets and Pupasov-Maximov [Phys. Rev. A 103, 12214 (2021)] addresses their criticism of the combined experimental and theoretical study "Observing the quantum wave nature of free electrons through spontaneous emission" by Remez et al, published in Phys. Rev. Lett. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 060401 (2019)]. We show, by means of simple optical arguments as well as numerical simulations, that the criticism raised by Karlovets and Pupasov-Maximov regarding the experimental regime reported by Remez et al is false. Further, we discuss a necessary clarification for the theoretical derivations presented by Karlovets and Pupasov-Maximov, as they only hold for a certain experimental situation where the final state of the emitting electron is observed in coincidence with the emitted photon -which is not the common scenario in cathodoluminescence. Upon lifting the concerns regarding the experimental regime reported by Remez et al, and explicitly clarifying the electron post-selection, we believe that the paper by Karlovets and Pupasov-Maximov may constitute a valuable contribution to the problem of spontaneous emission by shaped electron wavefunctions, as it presents new expressions for the emission rates beyond the ubiquitous paraxial approximation.

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“…Our results should pave the way for the realization of dynamically tunable, compact X-ray sources, which have a wide range of potential applications in imaging and inspection [47][48][49] , including X-ray hyperspectral imaging and X-ray quantum optics [50][51][52][53] . The study of shaping of incident free electrons [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] -on the level of either the macroscopic bunch structure or the individual electron wavefunction -is a subject of active investigation that could lead to greater control and enhancement of the output radiation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Versatility of Table‐Top X‐Rays from Van der Waals Structures

et al. 2022

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Van der Waals (vdW) materials have attracted much interest for their myriad unique electronic, mechanical and thermal properties. In particular, they are promising candidates for monochromatic, table-top X-ray sources. This work reveals that the versatility of the table-top vdW X-ray source goes beyond what has been demonstrated so far. By introducing a tilt angle between the vdW structure and the incident electron beam, it is theoretically and experimentally shown that the accessible photon energy range is more than doubled. This allows for greater versatility in real-time tuning of the vdW X-ray source. Furthermore, this work shows that the accessible photon energy range is maximized by simultaneously controlling both the electron energy and the vdW structure tilt. These results should pave the way for highly tunable, compact X-ray sources, with potential applications including hyperspectral X-ray fluoroscopy and X-ray quantum optics.

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The coherence of light is fundamentally tied to the quantum coherence of the emitting particle

Cited by 52 publications

References 99 publications

Optical Excitations with Electron Beams: Challenges and Opportunities

Optical Excitations with Electron Beams: Challenges and Opportunities

Comment on “Nonlinear quantum effects in electromagnetic radiation of a vortex electron”

Enhanced Versatility of Table‐Top X‐Rays from Van der Waals Structures

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