Spatiotemporal shaping of attosecond X-rays with time-dependent orbital angular momentum

Abstract

Attosecond X-ray pulses are indispensable for exploring ultrafast phenomena in matter on Angstrom and attosecond scales. Here we propose a new method to realize spatiotemporal shaping of attosecond X-rays through temporal control of the orbital angular momentum mode content using an X-ray free-electron laser. The method exploits transverse-mode-dependent frequency pulling in a deliberately detuned second stage, together with slippage between the seed and the amplified radiation. Three-dimensional simulations show a double-spike waveform in which the two spikes carry different dominant topological charges. The spike separation is tunable and can reach several hundred attoseconds. This provides a source-level route to spatiotemporally structured attosecond X-rays with controllable temporal structure and topological mode content.