Field-driven attosecond deflection of electron beams at the position of planar foils
Abstract
While the coupling of free-electron beams and light has enabled the control of electron's quantum states and the generation of ultrashort electron pulses, it can distort the measured signal when probing a laser-driven sample with an electron beam. Here, we theoretically study optical-field-driven beam deflection that inevitably occurs at the location of a laser-excited sample. Treating electrons in a beam as classical point particles and focusing on thin planar samples, we conduct a systematic study of the instantaneous deflection amplitudes with respect to light polarization, material type, thickness, and interaction geometry. For s-polarized excitation fields, the deflection amplitude is strictly proportional to the excitation-field amplitude in a foil, making beam deflection unavoidable. Conversely, for p-polarized fields, a nontrivial relationship emerges between the deflection amplitude and the field amplitude due to the interplay of electric and magnetic fields coupled with the electron-light velocity mismatch. Crucially, we demonstrate that the deflection can be minimized even under high field strengths by selecting an optimal configuration for a given foil material and thickness. These findings provide key guidelines for designing future time-resolved imaging experiments using ultrashort electron beams.
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BibTeX
@misc{gui2026fielddriven,
title = {{Field-driven attosecond deflection of electron beams at the position of planar foils}},
author = {Xiaofan Gui and Kenichi L. Ishikawa and Yuya Morimoto},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.27015},
eprint = {2608.27015},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27015},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Field-driven attosecond deflection of electron beams at the position of planar foils
AU - Xiaofan Gui
AU - Kenichi L. Ishikawa
AU - Yuya Morimoto
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.27015
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27015
AB - While the coupling of free-electron beams and light has enabled the control of electron's quantum states and the generation of ultrashort electron pulses, it can distort the measured signal when probing a laser-driven sample with an electron beam. Here, we theoretically study optical-field-driven beam deflection that inevitably occurs at the location of a laser-excited sample. Treating electrons in a beam as classical point particles and focusing on thin planar samples, we conduct a systematic study of the instantaneous deflection amplitudes with respect to light polarization, material type, thickness, and interaction geometry. For s-polarized excitation fields, the deflection amplitude is strictly proportional to the excitation-field amplitude in a foil, making beam deflection unavoidable. Conversely, for p-polarized fields, a nontrivial relationship emerges between the deflection amplitude and the field amplitude due to the interplay of electric and magnetic fields coupled with the electron-light velocity mismatch. Crucially, we demonstrate that the deflection can be minimized even under high field strengths by selecting an optimal configuration for a given foil material and thickness. These findings provide key guidelines for designing future time-resolved imaging experiments using ultrashort electron beams.
ER -