Elastic propagation of fast electron vortices through crystals

The propagation of electron beams carrying angular momentum in crystals is studied using a multislice approach for the model system Fe. It is found that the vortex beam is distorted strongly due to elastic scattering. Consequently, the expectation value of the angular momentum as well as the local vortex components change with the initial position of the vortex and the propagation depth, making numerical simulations indispensable when analysing experiments.