Photon acceleration of high-intensity vector vortex beams into the extreme ultraviolet
Abstract Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light sources allow for the probing of bound electron dynamics on attosecond scales, interrogation of high-energy-density matter, and access to novel regimes of strong-field quantum electrodynamics. Despite the importance of these applications, coherent XUV sources...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Communications Physics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02163-5 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light sources allow for the probing of bound electron dynamics on attosecond scales, interrogation of high-energy-density matter, and access to novel regimes of strong-field quantum electrodynamics. Despite the importance of these applications, coherent XUV sources remain relatively rare, and those that do exist are limited in their peak intensity and spatio-polarization structure. Here, we demonstrate that photon acceleration of an optical vector vortex pulse in the moving density gradient of an electron beam–driven plasma wave can produce a high-intensity, tunable-wavelength XUV pulse with the same vector vortex structure as the original pulse. Quasi-3D, boosted-frame particle-in-cell simulations show the transition of optical vector vortex pulses with 800-nm wavelengths and intensities below 1018 W/cm2 to XUV vector vortex pulses with 36-nm wavelengths and intensities exceeding 1020 W/cm2 over a distance of 1.2 cm. The XUV pulses have sub-femtosecond durations and nearly flat phase fronts. The production of such high-quality, high-intensity XUV vector vortex pulses could expand the utility of XUV light as a diagnostic and driver of novel light–matter interactions. |
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| ISSN: | 2399-3650 |