Isolated terawatt sub-attosecond high-energy x-ray pulse generated by an x-ray free-electron laser

Abstract

The endless quest for dynamics in natural phenomena has resulted in the generation and application of attosecond pulses to trace electron dynamics in atomic and molecular systems. The next challenge is to generate powerful pulses on the zeptosecond time scale, which is currently inaccessible. Through a simulation study, a new type of x-ray source that can generate an isolated terawatt sub-attosecond pulse at high-energy x rays by combining attosecond pulse technology with free-electron laser technology is proposed. The successful generation of a sub-attosecond pulse necessitates the consideration of nanometer-wide current-spikes, the sub-attosecond pulse amplification, and pulse duration and background noise control. The underlying interaction mechanism between a sub-attosecond pulse and a current-spike is closely investigated using the simulation results. The proposed method is expected to produce an isolated ~700 zs pulse with a peak output of 2.9 TW at a photon energy of 247.5 keV. (C) 2022 Author(s).