Abstract
Electrons carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have recently been discovered theoretically and obtained experimentally, which opens up possibilities for using them in high-energy physics. We consider such a twisted electron moving in the external field of a plane electromagnetic wave and study how this field influences the electron's OAM. Being motivated by the development of high-power lasers, we focus our attention on a classically strong-field regime for which e2A2̄/(me2c 4)≳1. It is shown that, along with the well-known "plane-wave" Volkov solution, the Dirac equation also has the "non-plane-wave" solutions, which possess OAM and spin-orbit coupling and generalize the free-electron's Bessel states. Motion of an electron with OAM in a circularly polarized laser wave reveals a twofold character: the wave-packet center moves along a classical helical trajectory with some quantum transverse broadening (due to OAM) existing even for a free electron. Using the twisted states, we calculate the electron's total angular momentum and predict its shift in the strong-field regime, which is analogous to the well-known shifts of the electron's momentum and mass (and to a less-known shift of its spin) in intense fields. Since the electron's effective angular momentum is conserved in a plane wave, as well as in some more general field configurations, we discuss several possibilities for accelerating nonrelativistic twisted electrons by using focused and combined electromagnetic fields.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 062102 |
| Journal | Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics |
| Volume | 86 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Dec 2012 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Cite this
Electron with orbital angular momentum in a strong laser wave. / Karlovets, Dmitry V.
In: Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Vol. 86, No. 6, 062102, 10.12.2012.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Electron with orbital angular momentum in a strong laser wave
AU - Karlovets, Dmitry V.
PY - 2012/12/10
Y1 - 2012/12/10
N2 - Electrons carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have recently been discovered theoretically and obtained experimentally, which opens up possibilities for using them in high-energy physics. We consider such a twisted electron moving in the external field of a plane electromagnetic wave and study how this field influences the electron's OAM. Being motivated by the development of high-power lasers, we focus our attention on a classically strong-field regime for which e2A2̄/(me2c 4)≳1. It is shown that, along with the well-known "plane-wave" Volkov solution, the Dirac equation also has the "non-plane-wave" solutions, which possess OAM and spin-orbit coupling and generalize the free-electron's Bessel states. Motion of an electron with OAM in a circularly polarized laser wave reveals a twofold character: the wave-packet center moves along a classical helical trajectory with some quantum transverse broadening (due to OAM) existing even for a free electron. Using the twisted states, we calculate the electron's total angular momentum and predict its shift in the strong-field regime, which is analogous to the well-known shifts of the electron's momentum and mass (and to a less-known shift of its spin) in intense fields. Since the electron's effective angular momentum is conserved in a plane wave, as well as in some more general field configurations, we discuss several possibilities for accelerating nonrelativistic twisted electrons by using focused and combined electromagnetic fields.
AB - Electrons carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have recently been discovered theoretically and obtained experimentally, which opens up possibilities for using them in high-energy physics. We consider such a twisted electron moving in the external field of a plane electromagnetic wave and study how this field influences the electron's OAM. Being motivated by the development of high-power lasers, we focus our attention on a classically strong-field regime for which e2A2̄/(me2c 4)≳1. It is shown that, along with the well-known "plane-wave" Volkov solution, the Dirac equation also has the "non-plane-wave" solutions, which possess OAM and spin-orbit coupling and generalize the free-electron's Bessel states. Motion of an electron with OAM in a circularly polarized laser wave reveals a twofold character: the wave-packet center moves along a classical helical trajectory with some quantum transverse broadening (due to OAM) existing even for a free electron. Using the twisted states, we calculate the electron's total angular momentum and predict its shift in the strong-field regime, which is analogous to the well-known shifts of the electron's momentum and mass (and to a less-known shift of its spin) in intense fields. Since the electron's effective angular momentum is conserved in a plane wave, as well as in some more general field configurations, we discuss several possibilities for accelerating nonrelativistic twisted electrons by using focused and combined electromagnetic fields.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870871462&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevA.86.062102
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevA.86.062102
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84870871462
VL - 86
JO - Physical Review A
JF - Physical Review A
SN - 1050-2947
IS - 6
M1 - 062102
ER -