Observation of grating diffraction radiation at the KEK LUCX facility

The development of linac–based narrow–band THz sources with sub–picosecond, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\mu J$$\end{document}μJ-level radiation pulses is in demand from the scientific community. Intrinsically monochromatic emitters such as coherent Smith–Purcell radiation sources appear as natural candidates. However, the lack of broad spectral tunability continues to stimulate active research in this field. We hereby present the first experimental investigation of coherent grating diffraction radiation (GDR), for which comparable radiation intensity with central frequency fine–tuning in a much wider spectral range has been confirmed. Additionally, the approach allows for bandwidth selection at the same central frequency. The experimental validation of performance included the basic spectral, spatial and polarization properties. The discussion of the comparison between GDR intensity and other coherent radiation sources is also presented. These results further strengthen the foundation for the design of a tabletop wide–range tunable quasi–monochromatic or multi–colour radiation source in the GHz–THz frequency range.

Direct Observation of Incoherent Cherenkov Diffraction Radiation in the Visible Range

We report on the observation of incoherent Cherenkov radiation emitted by a 5.3 GeV positron beam circulating in the Cornell electron-positron storage ring as the beam passes in the close vicinity of the surface of a fused silica radiator (i.e., at a distance larger than 0.8 mm). The shape of the radiator was designed in order to send the Cherenkov photons towards the detector, consisting of a compact optical system equipped with an intensified camera. The optical system allows both the measurements of 2D images and angular distribution including polarization study. The corresponding light intensity has been measured as a function of the distance between the beam and the surface of the radiator and has shown a good agreement with theoretical predictions. For highly relativistic particles, a large amount of incoherent radiation is produced in a wide spectral range. A light yield of 0.8×10^{-3} photon per particle per turn has been measured at a wavelength of 600±10  nm in a 2 cm long radiator and for an impact parameter of 1 mm. This will find applications in accelerators as noninvasive beam diagnostics for both leptons and hadrons.

Smith-Purcell radiation from periodic beams

Smith-Purcell effect is well known as a source of monochromatic electromagnetic radiation. In this paper we present the generalized theory of Smith-Purcell radiation from periodic beams. The form-factors describing both coherent and incoherent regimes of radiation are calculated. The radiation characteristics are investigated in two practically important frequency ranges, THz and X-ray, for two modulation profiles, most frequently used in practice - a train of microbunches and a Gaussian-shaped one, characterized by sinusoidal modulation with an arbitrary modulation depth. On the base of the theory developed we show that a modulated electron beam consisting of a set of bunches makes it possible to improve significantly the spectral line monochromaticity of the light emitted, reaching values better than 1% for short gratings. We demonstrate as well that Smith-Purcell radiation can be used for non-destructive diagnostics of the depth of modulation for partially modulated beams. These findings not only open up a new way to manipulate the light emission using Smith-Purcell effect but also promise a profound impact for other radiation sources based on charged particle beams, such as undulator radiation in FELs, next-generation X-ray radiation source based on inverse Compton scattering, in a wide range from THz to X-rays.

Transition radiation on a dynamic periodic interface

We investigate the transition radiation on a periodically deformed interface between two dielectric media. Under the assumption that the dielectric permittivities of the media are close, a formula is derived for the spectral-angular distribution of the radiated energy in the general case of a nonstatic profile function for the separating boundary. In particular, the latter includes the case of surface waves propagating along the boundary. The numerical examples are given for triangular grating and for sinusoidal profile. We show that instead of a single peak in the backward transition radiation on a flat interface, for periodic interface one has a set of peaks. The number and the locations of the peaks depend on the incidence angle of the charge and on the period of the interface. The conditions are specified for their appearance.

Diffraction radiation from an ultrarelativistic charge in the plasma frequency limit

Diffraction radiation (DR) from an ultrarelativistic particle in the high frequency limit is considered. The distribution of the emitted energy over angles and frequencies has been obtained. Both backward DR and forward DR have been explored. The maximum of backward DR is found to augment with increasing the oblique incidence angle.

Measurement of positron production efficiency from a tungsten monocrystalline target using 4- and 8-GeV electrons

Intense positron sources are being widely investigated for the next-generation linear colliders and B factories. A new method utilizing an axially oriented crystal as a positron-production target is one of the bright schemes, since it provides a powerful photon source through channeling and coherent bremsstrahlung processes when high-energy electrons penetrate the target. A series of positron-production experiments with tungsten crystals hit by 4- and 8-GeV single-bunch electron beams were carried out at the KEKB 8-GeV injector linac. Three tungsten crystals with different thicknesses (2.2, 5.3, and 9.0 mm) and those combined with amorphous tungsten plates were tested on a precise goniometer. The positron-production yields were measured with a magnetic spectrometer in the positron momentum (P(e(+))) range from 5 to 20 MeV/c. The angle of the <111> crystal axis with respect to the electron-beam direction was controlled by measuring the relative intensities of the produced positrons as a function of the rotational angle of the goniometer. The results show that the enhancements of the positron yield from crystal targets compared to amorphous targets of the same thickness at P(e(+))=20 MeV/c are from 1.5 to 3.7 and from 1.8 to 5.1, depending upon the target thickness for 4- and 8-GeV electrons, respectively.

Resonant diffraction radiation from an ultrarelativistic particle moving close to a tilted grating

A simple model for calculating the diffraction radiation characteristics from an ultrarelativistic charged particle moving close to a tilted ideally conducting strip is developed. Resonant diffraction radiation (RDR) is treated as a superposition of the radiation fields for periodically spaced strips. The RDR characteristics have been calculated as a function of the number of grating elements, tilted angle, and initial particle energy. An analogy with both the resonant transition radiation in an absorbing medium and the parametric x-ray radiation is noted.

Thomson scattering of coherent diffraction radiation by an electron bunch

This paper considers the process of Thomson scattering of coherent diffraction radiation (CDR) produced by the preceding electron bunch in the accelerator onto one of the subsequent bunches. It is shown that the yield of scattered hard photons is proportional to N(3)(e), where N(e) is the number of electrons per bunch. A geometry is chosen for the CDR generation and an expression is obtained for the scattered-photon spectrum, with regard to the geometry used, that depends explicitly on the bunch size. A technique is proposed for measuring the bunch length using scattered radiation characteristics.