A Twist That Improves Electron Microscopes (5 of 5) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

A Twist That Improves Electron Microscopes (5 of 5)

Caption

Simulated wavefronts of a focused free electron vortex beam. Bright blue areas correspond to the real amplitude of the wavefunction describing the electron. This electron vortex state has a topological charge of 5 -- the electron wavefunction is described by five intertwined helices and it possesses 5h quanta of orbital angular momentum. Yet while these wavefronts are spiral, the corresponding trajectory of the electron is not - the local momentum of the electron is perpendicular to the wavefront. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Jan. 14, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. McMorran at National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., and colleagues was titled, "Electron Vortex Beams with High Quanta of Orbital Angular Momentum."

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Image © B. McMorran/NIST

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