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  • Open Access

Probing quantum-coherent dynamics with free electrons

H. B. Crispin* and N. Talebi†

  • *Contact author: crispin@physik.uni-kiel.de
  • †Contact author: talebi@physik.uni-kiel.de
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033295 – Published 10 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/skds-z6c5

Abstract

Recent advances in time-resolved cathodoluminescence have enabled ultrafast studies of single emitters in quantum materials with femtosecond temporal resolution. Here, we develop a quantum theory modeling the dynamics of free electrons interacting with quantum emitters in arbitrary initial states. Our analysis reveals that a free electron can induce transient coherent oscillations in the populations when the system is initially prepared in a coherent superposition of its states. Moreover, the electron energy spectrum exhibits a clear signature of the quantum coherence and sensitivity to the transition frequency of the emitter. These coherence effects manifest themselves as oscillations in the zero-loss peak of the spectral energy loss probability. Our findings pave the way for characterization of quantum-coherent dynamics of individual quantum emitters by electron probes.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033295– Published 10 September, 2026
  • Received 21 December 2025
  • Accepted 18 August 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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