Generating High-Power, Frequency Tunable Coherent THz Pulse in an X-ray Free-Electron Laser for THz Pump and X-ray Probe Experiments

Precisely synchronized X-ray and strong-field coherent terahertz (THz) enable the coherent THz excitation of many fundamental modes (THz pump) and the capturing of X-ray dynamic images of matter (X-ray probe), while the generation of such a light source is still a challenge for most existing techniques. In this paper, a novel X-ray free-electron laser based light source is proposed to produce a synchronized high-powered X-ray pulse and strong field, widely frequency tunable coherent THz pulse simultaneously. The technique adopts a frequency beating laser modulated electron bunch with a Giga-electron-volt beam energy to generate an X-ray pulse and a THz pulse sequentially by passing two individual undulator sections with different magnetic periods. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are carried out using the beam parameters of the Shanghai soft X-ray free-electron laser facility. The results show that the technique can generate synchronized 4 nm X-ray radiation with a peak power of 1.89 GW, and narrow-band THz radiation with a pulse energy of 1.62 mJ, and the frequency of THz radiation can be continuously tuned from 0.1 to 40 THz. The proposed technique can be used for THz pump and X-ray probe experiments for dynamic research on the interaction between THz pulse and matter at a femtosecond time scale.

Automated summary

A novel X-ray free-electron laser based light source is proposed in this paper to generate synchronized high-powered X-ray and tunable coherent THz pulses. The technique utilizes a frequency beating laser modulated electron bunch to produce X-ray and THz pulses in two different undulator sections. The results show that the technique can generate synchronized 4 nm X-ray radiation with a peak power of 1.89 GW and narrow-band THz radiation with a pulse energy of 1.62 mJ, with tunable frequency from 0.1 to 40 THz. This technique can be used for dynamic research on the interaction between THz pulses and matter on a femtosecond time scale.