Electron Wave Function and First Extended Phase Matching (IMAGE)

U.S. National Science Foundation

Electron Wave Function and First Extended Phase Matching

Caption

This art represents an electron being ripped from an atom by a strong laser field, which stretches its quantum wave function over hundreds of atomic sizes. Just as electrons accelerated in an X-ray tube emit bremsstrahlung radiation, electrons accelerated by a laser can emit rainbows of coherent X-rays in a laser-like beam. X-ray light is "invisible to the human eye but is important for being able to 'see' the fine details and fastest motions of the nanoworld."

Credit

Tenio Popmintchev, JILA and University of Colorado at Boulder

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