Work

Unambiguous Detection of High-Energy Vortex States via the Superkick Effect

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Vortex states of photons, electrons, and other particles are freely propagating wave packets with helicoidal wave fronts winding around the axis of a phase vortex. A particle prepared in a vortex state carries a nonzero orbital angular momentum projection on the propagation direction, a quantum number that has never been exploited in experimental particle and nuclear physics. Low-energy vortex photons, electrons, neutrons, and helium atoms have been demonstrated in experiment and found numerous applications, and there exist proposals of boosting them to higher energies. However, verification that a high-energy particle is indeed in a vortex state will be a major challenge, since the low energy techniques become impractical at higher energies. Here, we propose a new diagnostic method based on the so-called superkick effect, which can unambiguously detect the presence of a phase vortex. A proof-of-principle experiment with vortex electrons can be done with existing technology, and its realization will also constitute the first observation of the superkick effect.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.133.265001

Authors: Zhengjiang Li, Shiyu Liu, Bei Liu, Liangliang Ji, Igor P. Ivanov

Institutions: Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics

Language: English

Topic: Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Key Research and Development Program of China