MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Undergraduate Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Undergraduate Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Controlling light emission with shaped electron wavefunctions

Author(s)
Murdia, Chitraang
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (6.682Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics.
Advisor
Marin Soljačić.
Terms of use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
The extent to which can one change the nature of spontaneous emission from a free electron by shaping the its wavefunction has been a long-standing question. In this work, we use both a semi-classical formalism and a QED formalism to show that Bremsstrahlung radiation can be tailored by altering the electron superposition states. Using the semi-classical formalism, we show that wavefunction shaping can greatly enhance the collimation of radiation from electron beams passing through spatially periodic electromagnetic fields, such as those in undulators. Moreover, the radiation from rapidly decelerated shaped electrons can be made directional and monochromatic. Using the QED formalism, we show that the radiation can be markedly different from an incoherent sum of the radiations of the two states because of interference between the scattering amplitudes from the two components of the superposition. The ability to control free electron spontaneous emission via interference may eventually result in a new degree of control over radiation over the entire electromagnetic spectrum in addition to the ability to deterministically introduce quantum behavior into normally classical light emission processes.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics, 2018.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 65-67).
 
Date issued
2018
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120216
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Physics.

Collections
  • Undergraduate Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.