3. Photoelectric effect with a twistGiovanni De Ninno, Jonas Wätzel, Primož Rebernik Ribič, Enrico Allaria, Marcello Coreno, Miltcho B. Danailov, Christian David, Alexander Demidovich, Michele Di Fraia, Luca Giannessi, Klaus Hansen, Špela Krušič, Michele Manfredda, Micheal Meyer, Andrej Mihelič, Najmeh Mirian, Oksana Plekan, Barbara Ressel, Benedikt Rosner, Alberto Simoncig, Simone Spampinati, Janez Štupar, Matjaž Žitnik, Marco Zangrando, Carlo Callegari, Jamal Berakdar, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Photons have fixed spin and unbounded orbital angular momentum (OAM). While the former is manifested in the polarization of light, the latter corresponds to the spatial phase distribution of its wavefront1. The distinctive way in which the photon spin dictates the electron motion upon light– matter interaction is the basis for numerous well-established spectroscopies. By contrast, imprinting OAM on a mat- ter wave, specifically on a propagating electron, is gener- ally considered very challenging and the anticipated effect undetectable2. In refs. 3,4, the authors provided evidence of OAM-dependent absorption of light by a bound electron. Here, we seek to observe an OAM-dependent dichroic photo- electric effect, using a sample of He atoms. Surprisingly, we find that the OAM of an optical field can be imprinted coher- ently onto a propagating electron wave. Our results reveal new aspects of light–matter interaction and point to a new kind of single-photon electron spectroscopy. Keywords: FEL, OAM, Photoelectric effect Published in RUNG: 09.09.2020; Views: 3583; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |