Optical polarization analogs in inelastic free-electron scattering.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38117898.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adj6038 and PMC identifier 10732523.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Advances in the ability to manipulate free-electron phase profiles within the electron microscope have spurred development of quantum-mechanical descriptions of electron energy loss (EEL) processes involving transitions between phase-shaped transverse states. Here, we elucidate an underlying connection between two ostensibly distinct optical polarization analogs identified in EEL experiments as manifestations of the same conserved scattering flux. Our work introduces a procedure for probing general tensorial target characteristics including global mode symmetries and local polarization.