Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Physics
Journal Title
Physical Review Letters
Pub Date
3-2006
Publisher
American Physical Society
Volume
96
Issue
10
Abstract
Negative ions undergoing near-threshold photodetachment in a weak laser field provide an almost pointlike, isotropic source of low-energy electrons. External fields exert forces on the emitted coherent electron wave and direct its motion. Here, we examine the spatial distribution of photodetached electrons in uniform, parallel electric and magnetic fields. The interplay of the electric and magnetic forces leads to a surprising intricate shape of the refracted electron wave, and mutiple interfering trajectories generate complex fringe patterns in the matter wave. The exact quantum solution is best understood in terms of the classical electron motion.
Recommended Citation
Bracher, Christian and Delos, John B., Motion of an Electron from a Point Source in Parallel Electric and Magnetic Fields (2006). Physical Review Letters, 96(10).
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.100404
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.100404
