Terahertz control of relativistic electron beams for femtosecond bunching and laser-synchronized temporal locking
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Hibberd, Morgan T. Shaw, Christopher T. Bradbury, Joseph T. Lake, Daniel S. Mosley, Connor D. W. Siaber, Sergey S. Nix, Laurence J. R. Higuera-González, Beatriz Pacey, Thomas H. Jones, James K. Walsh, David A. Appleby, Robert B. Burt, Graeme Graham, Darren M. Jamison, Steven P. |
| author_facet | Hibberd, Morgan T. Shaw, Christopher T. Bradbury, Joseph T. Lake, Daniel S. Mosley, Connor D. W. Siaber, Sergey S. Nix, Laurence J. R. Higuera-González, Beatriz Pacey, Thomas H. Jones, James K. Walsh, David A. Appleby, Robert B. Burt, Graeme Graham, Darren M. Jamison, Steven P. |
| contents | Femtosecond relativistic electron bunches and micro-bunch trains synchronised with femtosecond precision to external laser sources are widely sought for next-generation accelerator and photonic technologies, from extreme UV and X-ray light sources for materials science, to ultrafast electron diffraction and future high-energy physics colliders. While few-femtosecond bunches have been demonstrated, achieving the control, stability and femtosecond-level laser synchronisation remains critically out of reach. Here we demonstrate a concept for laser-driven compression of high-energy (35.5 MeV) electron bunches with temporal synchronisation to a high-power (few-TW) laser system. Laser-generated multi-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses drive periodic electron energy modulation, enabling subsequent magnetic compression capable of generating tuneable picosecond-spaced bunch trains with 30 pC total charge and 50 A peak currents, or to compress a single bunch by a factor of 27 down to 15 fs duration. The THz-driven compression simultaneously drives temporal-locking of the bunch to the THz drive laser, providing a route to femtosecond-level synchronisation, overcoming the timing jitter inherent to radio-frequency accelerators and high-power laser systems. This THz technique offers compact and flexible bunch control with unprecedented temporal synchronisation, opening a pathway to unlock new capabilities for free electron lasers, ultrafast electron diffraction and novel plasma accelerators. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_20685 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Terahertz control of relativistic electron beams for femtosecond bunching and laser-synchronized temporal locking Hibberd, Morgan T. Shaw, Christopher T. Bradbury, Joseph T. Lake, Daniel S. Mosley, Connor D. W. Siaber, Sergey S. Nix, Laurence J. R. Higuera-González, Beatriz Pacey, Thomas H. Jones, James K. Walsh, David A. Appleby, Robert B. Burt, Graeme Graham, Darren M. Jamison, Steven P. Accelerator Physics Applied Physics Optics Femtosecond relativistic electron bunches and micro-bunch trains synchronised with femtosecond precision to external laser sources are widely sought for next-generation accelerator and photonic technologies, from extreme UV and X-ray light sources for materials science, to ultrafast electron diffraction and future high-energy physics colliders. While few-femtosecond bunches have been demonstrated, achieving the control, stability and femtosecond-level laser synchronisation remains critically out of reach. Here we demonstrate a concept for laser-driven compression of high-energy (35.5 MeV) electron bunches with temporal synchronisation to a high-power (few-TW) laser system. Laser-generated multi-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses drive periodic electron energy modulation, enabling subsequent magnetic compression capable of generating tuneable picosecond-spaced bunch trains with 30 pC total charge and 50 A peak currents, or to compress a single bunch by a factor of 27 down to 15 fs duration. The THz-driven compression simultaneously drives temporal-locking of the bunch to the THz drive laser, providing a route to femtosecond-level synchronisation, overcoming the timing jitter inherent to radio-frequency accelerators and high-power laser systems. This THz technique offers compact and flexible bunch control with unprecedented temporal synchronisation, opening a pathway to unlock new capabilities for free electron lasers, ultrafast electron diffraction and novel plasma accelerators. |
| title | Terahertz control of relativistic electron beams for femtosecond bunching and laser-synchronized temporal locking |
| topic | Accelerator Physics Applied Physics Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20685 |