IEM Distinguished Lecturers Seminar: Interrogating ultrafast processes with fast electrons
*** Drinks and pizza at 11:45 in the lobby of BM 5202 ***
Abstract
Ultrafast electron microscopy has emerged as a research frontier enabling the investigation of material excitations with an unparalleled combination of spatial and temporal resolution. Beyond their role as classical probes, free electrons possess unique quantum properties that render them attractive resources for quantum nanophotonics, while opening fundamentally new approaches to quantum technologies. In this colloquium, we will discuss the fundamental principles governing the interactions between free electrons, light, and photonic nanostructures, with an emphasis on quantum aspects such as electron decoherence induced by coupling to radiative modes and the generation and manipulation of quantum states of light. We will show how radiative decoherence can be exploited for quantum sensing applications, including the interaction-free detection of distant objects and the measurement of the vacuum temperature, and how quantum correlations between electrons and wave-guided polaritons enable the generation of single and entangled photons heralded by electron energy loss and angular deflection measurements. Finally, we will discuss emerging opportunities for quantum sensing and metrology based on free electrons, as well as prospects for creating zeptosecond electron pulses to probe material excitations at unprecedentedly small spatiotemporal scales.
Bio
Javier García de Abajo is an ICREA Research Professor and leader of the Nanophotonics Theory Group at ICFO–Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques in Barcelona. His interests include electron microscopy, light-matter interactions, quantum optics, condensed matter physics, ultrafast phenomena, and nanophotonics. His group applies theoretical and computational techniques to investigate new phenomena and explore their potential application in microscopy, sensing, and information processing. He has co-authored 450+ papers cited 70,000+ times with an h index of 129 (Google Scholar, April 2026). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the Electromagnetic Academy.
Abstract
Ultrafast electron microscopy has emerged as a research frontier enabling the investigation of material excitations with an unparalleled combination of spatial and temporal resolution. Beyond their role as classical probes, free electrons possess unique quantum properties that render them attractive resources for quantum nanophotonics, while opening fundamentally new approaches to quantum technologies. In this colloquium, we will discuss the fundamental principles governing the interactions between free electrons, light, and photonic nanostructures, with an emphasis on quantum aspects such as electron decoherence induced by coupling to radiative modes and the generation and manipulation of quantum states of light. We will show how radiative decoherence can be exploited for quantum sensing applications, including the interaction-free detection of distant objects and the measurement of the vacuum temperature, and how quantum correlations between electrons and wave-guided polaritons enable the generation of single and entangled photons heralded by electron energy loss and angular deflection measurements. Finally, we will discuss emerging opportunities for quantum sensing and metrology based on free electrons, as well as prospects for creating zeptosecond electron pulses to probe material excitations at unprecedentedly small spatiotemporal scales.
Bio
Javier García de Abajo is an ICREA Research Professor and leader of the Nanophotonics Theory Group at ICFO–Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques in Barcelona. His interests include electron microscopy, light-matter interactions, quantum optics, condensed matter physics, ultrafast phenomena, and nanophotonics. His group applies theoretical and computational techniques to investigate new phenomena and explore their potential application in microscopy, sensing, and information processing. He has co-authored 450+ papers cited 70,000+ times with an h index of 129 (Google Scholar, April 2026). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the Electromagnetic Academy.
Practical information
- General public
- Free