Structured Light at the Extreme: Harnessing Spatiotemporal Control for High-Field Laser-Matter Interactions
Abstract
This review charts the emerging paradigm of intelligent structured light for high-field laser-matter interactions, where the precise spatiotemporal and vectorial control of light is a critical degree of freedom. We outline a transformative framework built upon three synergistic pillars. First, we survey the advanced electromagnetic toolkit, moving beyond conventional spatial light modulators to include robust static optics and the promising frontier of plasma light modulators. Second, we detail the optimization engine for this high-dimensional design space, focusing on physics-informed digital twins and AI-driven inverse design to automate the discovery of optimal light structures. Finally, we explore the groundbreaking applications enabled by this integrated approach, including programmable electron beams, orbital-angular-momentum-carrying {\gamma}-rays, compact THz accelerators, and robust communications. The path forward necessitates overcoming grand challenges in material science, real-time adaptive control at MHz rates, and the extension of these principles to the quantum realm. This review serves as a call to action for a coordinated, interdisciplinary effort to command, rather than merely observe, light-matter interactions at the extreme.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2512.05042,
title = {Structured Light at the Extreme: Harnessing Spatiotemporal Control for High-Field Laser-Matter Interactions},
author = {Sergio Carbajo and Seung-Whan Bahk and Justin Baker and Andrea Bertozzi and Abhimanyu Borthakur and Antonino Di Piazza and Andrew Forbes and Spencer Gessner and Jack Hirschman and Maciej Lewenstein and Yuhang Li and Inhyuk Nam and Eileen Otte and James Rozensweig and Yijie Shen and Liwei Song and Ye Tian and Yu Wang and Yuntian Wang and Logan Wright and Xiaojun Wu and Hao Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.05042},
year = {2025}
}