CPM Seminar

Physics with intense Terahertz pulses at LCLS

Matthias Hoffman

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

We will give a summary of recent pump-probe experiments at LCLS using intense Terahertz (THz) pulses as the pump. We show how material responses to the driving field can be probed with sub-cycle resolution and reveal information about field-driven phase transitions, magnetic changes or lattice dynamics. In particular, the THz field can couple effectively to infrared-active phonons which may be driven into the highly nonlinear regime. This enables the direct study of the phonon potential and coupling between modes.

Further, we will give an outlook of current and future THz capabilities at SLAC National Accelerator Lab and possibilities to use THz pulses for the diagnostics and manipulation of relativistic electron beams.