Related papers: Free-electron-light interactions in nanophotonics
Free-electron radiation results from the interaction between swift electrons and the local electromagnetic environment. Recent advances in material technologies provide powerful tools to control light emission from free electrons and may…
Spontaneous processes triggered in a sample by free electrons are commonly regarded as incoherent, and therefore unable to interfere with external light sources. Here, we challenge this concept by showing through first-principles theory…
Rapid progress in precision nanofabrication and atomic design over the past 50 years has ushered in a succession of transformative eras for molding the generation and flow of light. The use of nanoscale and atomic features to design light…
Free-electron interactions with light and matter have long served as a cornerstone for exploring the quantum and ultrafast dynamics of material excitation. In recent years, this paradigm has evolved from a classical description of radiation…
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…
Since its inception, research of cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED) has extended our understanding of light-matter interactions and our ability to utilize them. Thus far, all the work in this field has been focused on light interacting…
Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy performed in an electron microscope has proven a versatile tool for analysing the near- and far-field optical response of plasmonic and dielectric nanostructures. Nevertheless, the transition radiation…
Entanglement of photons is a fundamental feature of quantum mechanics, which stands at the core of quantum technologies such as photonic quantum computing, communication, and sensing. An ongoing challenge in all these is finding an…
Free electron radiation such as Cerenkov, Smith--Purcell, and transition radiation can be greatly affected by structured optical environments, as has been demonstrated in a variety of polaritonic, photonic-crystal, and metamaterial systems.…
Over the past century, continuous advancements in electron microscopy have enabled the synthesis, control, and characterization of high-quality free-electron beams. These probes carry an evanescent electromagnetic field that can drive…
Nonlinear optical phenomena such as parametric amplification and frequency conversion are typically driven by external optical fields. Free electrons can also act as electromagnetic sources, offering unmatched spatial precision. Combining…
Inelastic interaction of free-electrons with optical near fields has recently attracted attention for manipulating and shaping free-electron wavepackets. Understanding the nature and the dependence of the inelastic cross section on the…
Investigating the interaction of electron beams with materials and light has been a field of research since more than a century. The field was advanced theoretically by the raise of quantum mechanics and technically by the introduction of…
We theoretically investigate the ability of free electrons to yield information on the nonlinear Floquet dynamics of atomic systems subject to intense external illumination. By applying a quantum-mechanical formalism to describe the…
Long-range coherence and correlations between electrons in solids are the cornerstones for developing future quantum materials and devices. In 1954, Dicke described correlated spontaneous emission from closely packed quantum emitters,…
The interaction between free electrons and nanoscale optical fields has emerged as a unique platform to investigate ultrafast processes in matter and explore fundamental quantum phenomena. In particular, optically modulated electrons are…
Optical parametric processes underpin quantum photonics, while free-electron--photon interactions offer agile pathways to generate nontrivial quantum photonic states. These threads have so far largely progressed independently, whereas…
Phenomena of free-electron X-ray radiation are treated almost exclusively with classical electrodynamics, despite the intrinsic interaction being that of quantum electrodynamics. The lack of quantumness arises from the vast disparity…
Nanoscale electronics and photonics are among the most promising research areas providing functional nano-components for data transfer and signal processing. By adopting metal-based optical antennas as a disruptive technological vehicle, we…
The short de Broglie wavelength and strong interaction empower free electrons to probe scattering and excitations in materials and resolve the structure of biomolecules. Recent advances in using nanophotonic structures to mediate bilinear…