  We demonstrate a novel scheme for imposing and removing large energy chirp on
relativistic electron bunches relying on the transverse-to-longitudinal mixing
accomplished with a set of transverse deflecting cavities. The working
principles of the new concept are explained using the first order matrix
formalism in the approximation of the linear single-particle dynamics. The
scheme demonstrates versatility regarding the average beam energy, and hence,
positioning along the accelerator beamline. The performance of the scheme is
numerically investigated with the elegant particle tracking code. It is shown
that the associated nonlinear effects, causing emittance deterioration for the
extreme quantities of the total energy spread can be effectively compensated by
optimization of the Twiss parameters while relying on the eigen-emittance
analysis. The impact of the longitudinal space charge effects on the beam
dynamics in the proposed scheme is also investigated.
