Abstract: | The wave-particle duality nature of free electron wavefunction and its measurability via its interaction with radiation, have been the subject of inquiry and controversy since the early inception of quantum theory [1]. We present a general theory of electron interaction with radiation and matter that encompasses free electron radiation sources and accelerators on one hand and electron microscopy interaction with quantum excitations in matter on the other hand. The universal formulation reveals the transition of these interactions from the stimulated emission/absorption (deceleration/acceleration) regime of free electron radiators and accelerators (FEL, DLA [2]) to the quantum energy spectrum regime of Photon-Induced Near-Field Electron Microscopy (PINEM) [3]. I will further discuss the measurability and possible applications of spontaneous and stimulated radiative interaction of optically modulated quantum electron wavepackets [4] in the single electron and multi-particle regimes. Reference 1. 1. Schrödinger, E. “An undulatory theory of the mechanics of atoms and molecules”, Physical Review, 28(6), 1049 (1926); Born, M. Z. Physik 37, 863 (1926). 2. Peralta, et al. “Demonstration of electron acceleration in a laser-driven dielectric microstructure”. Nature, 503(7474), 91 (2013). 3. Gover A, Pan Y. "Dimension-dependent stimulated radiative interaction of a single electron quantum wavepacket." Physics Letters A 382, 1550 (2018). 4. Priebe, Katharina E., et al. "Attosecond electron pulse trains and quantum state reconstruction in ultrafast transmission electron microscopy." Nature Photonics 11.12, 793 (2017)
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