Electron-light interactions beyond the adiabatic approximation: recoil engineering and spectral interferometry

• Main Author: Nahid Talebi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-01-01
• Series: Advances in Physics: X
• Subjects: Adiabatic approximation; recoil; spectral interferometry; self-consistent field theory
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23746149.2018.1499438

The adiabatic approximation has formed the basis for much of our understandings of the interaction of light and electrons. The classical nonrecoil approximation or quantum mechanical Wolkow states of free-electron waves have been routinely employed to interpret the outcomes of low-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) or electron holography. Despite the enormous success of semianalytical approximations, there are certainly ranges of electron–photon coupling strengths where more demanding self-consistent analyses are to be exploited to thoroughly grasp our experimental results. Slow-electron point-projection microscopes and many of the photoemission experiments are employed within such ranges. Here, we aim to classify those regimes and propose numerical solutions for an accurate simulation model. A survey of the works carried out within self-consistent Maxwell–Lorentz and Maxwell–Schrödinger frameworks are outlined. Several applications of the proposed frameworks are discussed, and an outlook for further investigations is also delivered. Abbreviations: CL: Cathodoluminescence CW: continuous – wave DLA: dielectric laser accelerator EDPHS: electron-driven photon source EEGS: electron energy-gain spectroscopy EELS: Electron energy-loss spectroscopy eV: electron-volt fs: femtosecond FDTD: finite-difference time-domain IR: infrared PIC: particle-in-cell PINEM: photon-induced near-field electron microscopy PLDOS: photonic local density of state PPM: point-projection electron microscopy SEM: scanning electron microscope SVA: slowly varying approximation TE: transverse electric TEM: transmission electron microscope THz: terahertz TM: transverse magnetic UV: ultraviolet