Attosecond coherent Cherenkov radiation from a flying-focus-driven superluminal wakefield

We present a scheme for attosecond coherent Cherenkov radiation from a superluminal wake driven by a flying-focus pulse. Varying the flying-focus velocity allows the wake phase velocity to cross from subluminal to superluminal, providing direct control over radiation coherence and directivity. In the superluminal regime, the divergence angle follows the Fresnel diffraction limit for a finite source, reducing from tens of milliradians to below 9 mrad. Transverse electron oscillations are found to narrow the angular spread with increasing amplitude. The plasma density serves as a key tuning parameter, leading to a superlinear growth in absolute bandwidth with density, which expects to further expand the range of photon energy. These results lay a theoretical foundation for realizing tunable attosecond coherent light sources via the flying‑focus technique.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Optics Express
Published
2026-10-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.612925
Primary Topic
Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Attosecond coherent Cherenkov radiation from a flying-focus-driven superluminal wakefield

Kangnan Jiang, Jiale Zheng, Xintao Yang, Ruxin Li et al.
Optics Express
Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
article

Attosecond coherent Cherenkov radiation from a flying-focus-driven superluminal wakefield

Kangnan Jiang, Jiale Zheng, Xintao Yang, Ruxin Li, Zhaoyang Li (248471), Wentao Wang
article en

Abstract

We present a scheme for attosecond coherent Cherenkov radiation from a superluminal wake driven by a flying-focus pulse. Varying the flying-focus velocity allows the wake phase velocity to cross from subluminal to superluminal, providing direct control over radiation coherence and directivity. In the superluminal regime, the divergence angle follows the Fresnel diffraction limit for a finite source, reducing from tens of milliradians to below 9 mrad. Transverse electron oscillations are found to narrow the angular spread with increasing amplitude. The plasma density serves as a key tuning parameter, leading to a superlinear growth in absolute bandwidth with density, which expects to further expand the range of photon energy. These results lay a theoretical foundation for realizing tunable attosecond coherent light sources via the flying‑focus technique.

Optics Express
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.