2022/06/07 by Deng Pan, Hongxing Xu, Pan, Deng +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Optics (physics.optics) #Quantum optics and atomic interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2206.03442
openalex publication_date 2022/06/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Manipulating the spin polarization of electron beams using light is highly desirable but exceedingly challenging, as the approaches proposed in previous studies using free-space light usually require enormous laser intensities. Here, we propose the use of a transverse electric optical near field, extended on nanostructures, to efficiently induce spin flips of an adjacent electron beam by exploiting the strong inelastic electron scattering in phase-matched optical near fields. Our calculations show that the use of a dramatically reduced laser intensity (∼ 1012 W/cm2) with a short interaction length (16 μm) achieves an electron spin-flip probability of approximately 12%. Intriguingly, the two spin components of an unpolarized incident electron beam -- parallel and antiparallel to the electric field -- are spin-flipped and inelastically scattered to different energy states, providing an analog of the Stern--Gerlach experiment in the energy dimension. Our findings are important for optical control of free-electron spins, preparation of spin-polarized electron beams, and applications as varied as in material science and high-energy physics.