Abstract
There are important differences between the nonrelativistic and relativistic description of electron beams. In the relativistic case the orbital angular momentum quantum number cannot be used to specify the wave functions and the structure of vortex lines in these two descriptions is completely different. We introduce analytic solutions of the Dirac equation in the form of exponential wave packets and we argue that they properly describe relativistic electron beams carrying angular momentum.
- Received 1 November 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.114801
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
A New Twist on Relativistic Electron Vortices
Published 13 March 2017
Two studies explore the properties of vortices formed by electrons that travel at relativistic speeds.
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