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Coherent Synchrotron Radiation by Excitation of Surface Plasmon Polariton on Near-Critical Solid Microtube Surface

Bifeng Lei1,2,*, Hao Zhang1,2, Daniel Seipt3,4, Alexandre Bonatto5, Bin Qiao6, Javier Resta-López7, Guoxing Xia8,2, and Carsten Welsch1,2

  • *Contact author: bifeng.lei@liverpool.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 205001 – Published 12 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cnym-16hc

Abstract

Coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is crucial for the development of powerful ultrashort light sources. We present a mechanism for generating CSR in the form of generalised superradiance, based on surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), which are resonantly excited on a solid, near-critical-density inner surface of a microtube. A high-intensity, circularly polarized laser pulse, propagating along the microtube axis, efficiently couples the cylindrical SPP modes. This process creates azimuthally structured, rotating electromagnetic fields. These rotating fields subsequently confine, modulate, and directly accelerate surface electrons to emit CSR in the Vavilov-Cherenkov angle. We further demonstrate that by improving the azimuthal symmetry of these electrons, the helical modulation enables CSR emission across all azimuthal directions in the form of isolated harmonics, significantly enhancing radiation intensity even when full coherence is imperfect. Our full 3D particle-in-cell simulations indicate this scheme can generate x-rays with coherence enhanced by up to 2 orders of magnitude compared to incoherent emission. The challenges to experimentally realize this scheme are discussed, including the need for high-contrast lasers to prevent preplasma formation and the demanding tolerances for microtube fabrication and alignment, while these challenges are not beyond the scope of existing or near-future experimental capabilities.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 205001– Published 12 November, 2025
  • Received 6 July 2025
  • Accepted 27 October 2025
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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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