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Simulations of single-cycle waveform control of undulator radiation

Jenny Morgan*, Nicholas Sudar, Claudio Emma, and Agostino Marinelli

  • *Contact author: jmorgan@slac.stanford.edu
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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 093404 – Published 25 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/g653-qmwq

Abstract

We show that plasma-accelerated electron beams enable single-cycle control of undulator radiation, including control of its polarization and time-frequency structure as described by the Wigner distribution. Using the ultrashort, high-current electron bunch produced by a plasma-wakefield accelerator reported in Emma et al. Terawatt attosecond x-ray source driven by a plasma accelerator, APL Photonics 6, 076107 (2021), we consider the regime in which the resonant radiation wavelength exceeds the effective bunch length, so that emission is coherently generated within each undulator period and follows the undulator magnetic waveform. This allows subcycle control of the electric field through undulator design, effectively turning the undulator into a tunable source of waveform-shaped radiation. Using numerical simulations, we model two compact undulator configurations: a linearly tapered undulator that produces a chirped optical waveform, and an undulator that generates radiation with controlled, cycle-to-cycle polarization variation. Together, these results establish a route to subcycle waveform and polarization control of ultrashort radiation.

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 093404– Published 25 September, 2026
  • Received 16 March 2026
  • Accepted 1 September 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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