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Electron matter waves with internal torque
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DOI：10.1038/s41567-026-03308-1.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Investigating or controlling angular momentum in atoms or subatomic structures requires torque on femtosecond and picometre scales, far below the capabilities of laser light. Here we report electron beams with an ultrafast internal torque. We first intersect the electron beam with chiral laser light to create discrete energy sidebands by multiple helical photon absorptions, leading to a correlation between orbital angular momentum and kinetic energy. Then, we use the dispersion of these partial waves due to the electron’s rest mass to convert each electron into a wavefunction with internal torque. The local chirality within an electron matter wave changes from left-handed into achiral towards right-handed within femtosecond times. Such electron matter waves might facilitate research on angular momentum and chirality on atomic and subatomic scales. Laser light cannot probe or control rotation at the single-atom level in a material. Now electron matter waves with internal torque show promise for studying and manipulating materials on atomic scales.
Keywords:
electron matter waves
internal torque
angular momentum
chiral laser light
femtosecond dynamics
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