Scattering-asymmetry control with ultrafast electron wave packet shaping

Abstract Scattering of a tightly focused electron beam by an atom forms one of the bases of modern electron microscopy. A fundamental symmetry breaking occurs when the target atom is displaced from the beam center. This displacement results in a deflection of the beam and an asymmetric angular distribution of the scattered electrons. Here we propose a concept to control the sign and magnitude of the scattering asymmetry by shaping the incident high-energy electron wave packet in momentum space on the atto- to picosecond time scale. The shaping controls the ultrafast real-space dynamics of the wave packet, shifting the balance between two competing contributions of the impact-parameter-dependent quantum interference and the momentum distribution of the wave packet on the target. We find a strong sensitivity of the elastic scattering on the wave packet properties, an effect that will allow wave-packet and target characterization in ultrafast electron microscopy.