Observation of the Relativistic Reversal of the Ponderomotive Potential.

ABSTRACT: The secular dynamics of a nonrelativistic charged particle in an electromagnetic wave can be described by the ponderomotive potential. Although ponderomotive electron-laser interactions at relativistic velocities are important for emerging technologies from laser-based particle accelerators to laser-enhanced electron microscopy, the effects of special relativity on the interaction have only been studied theoretically. Here, we use a transmission electron microscope to measure the position-dependent phase shift imparted to a relativistic electron wave function when it traverses a standing laser wave. The kinetic energy of the electrons is varied between 80 and 300 keV, and the laser standing wave has a continuous-wave intensity of 175  GW/cm^{2}. In contrast to the nonrelativistic case, we

SUBMITTER: Axelrod JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7357394 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature