Optical polarization analogs in inelastic free-electron scattering
Marc R. Bourgeois, Austin G. Nixon, Matthieu Chalifour, David J. Masiello
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.
Topics & Concepts
Polarization (electrochemistry)ScatteringInelastic scatteringElectronPhysicsTransverse planeElectron scatteringOpticsChemistryQuantum mechanicsBiologyPhysical chemistryAnatomyAdvanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsElectron and X-Ray Spectroscopy TechniquesPhotocathodes and Microchannel Plates