LINAC2026 - 33rd Linear Accelerator Conference

Development of a relativistic vortex electron source: current status and first results

Not scheduled

2h

Daejeon Convention Center

Poster Presentation MC1.A02 Electron and ion sources, guns, photo injectors, charge breeders Poster Session

Speaker

Dr Konstantin Popov (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research)

Description

Vortex electron beams are quantum states carrying quantized orbital angular momentum (OAM). Their extension to relativistic energies remains an open challenge, as experimental realizations so far are limited to electron microscopes at a few hundred keV. Such beams are of growing interest in accelerator physics, as OAM-carrying electrons may provide complementary tools for studies of nucleon structure and spin-related phenomena in scattering experiments.

We pursue the generation of MeV-scale vortex beams within a classical RF photoinjector. OAM is transferred from structured laser radiation to photoelectrons at emission, followed by rapid acceleration in a standard RF gun over a short distance, enabling controlled low-charge operation with reduced space-charge effects. The approach is compatible with established photoinjector technology.

This report demonstrates classical beam dynamics for sub-pC bunch charge operation simulation results. Moreover, a theoretical study of the evolution of a Laguerre-Gaussian electron wave packet in realistic accelerating fields is presented.

Funding Agency

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 23-62-10026)