Bragg scattering of free electrons using the Kapitza-Dirac effect.

Proposal for a Raman X-ray Free Electron Laser

A scheme for an X-ray free electron laser is proposed, based on a Raman process occurring during the interaction between a moderately relativistic bunch of free electrons, and twin intense short pulse lasers interfering to form a transverse standing wave along the electron trajectories. In the high intensity regime of the Kapitza-Dirac effect, the laser ponderomotive potential forces the electr...

Illuminating the Kapitza-Dirac Effect with Electron Matter Optics [Colloquium]

Spin dynamics in the Kapitza-Dirac effect.

Electron spin dynamics in Kapitza-Dirac scattering from a standing laser wave of high frequency and high intensity is studied. We develop a fully relativistic quantum theory of the electron motion based on the time-dependent Dirac equation. Distinct spin dynamics, with Rabi oscillations and complete spin-flip transitions, is demonstrated for Kapitza-Dirac scattering involving three photons in a...

Coherent manipulation of atoms with standing light waves

Coherent manipulation of atomic momentum states is the primary goal of atom optics, and the standing light wave with its associated stimulated light forces is the primary method of achieving this goal. A description of the standing wave as two counter-propagating beams of photons leads to a natural explanation of Bragg scattering. In contrast, Kapitza–Dirac scattering, atom lithography, and the...

Creating electron vortex beams with light.

We propose an all-optical method of creating electron vortices utilizing the Kapitza-Dirac effect. This technique uses the transfer of orbital angular momentum from photons to free electrons creating electron vortex beams in the process. The laser intensities needed for this experiment can be obtained with available pulsed lasers and the resulting electron beams carrying orbital angular momentu...