Observing Ultracold Electron Bunches in Subpicosecond Timeframes.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have demonstrated the scattering of subpicosecond electron bunches from an ultracold electron source. The source was created by photoionizing laser-cooled rubidium gas in a grating magneto-optical trap via a two-step process. The recent work highlights the value of the compact ultracold source they realized for producing ultrafast electron bunches. The findings gathered by this team of researchers could pave the way for the development of highly performing imaging techniques that could advance research in numerous fields.