Chicane radiation measurements with a compressed electron beam at the BNL ATF

Abstract

The radiation emitted from a chicane compressor has been studied at the Brookhaven national laboratory (BNL) accelerator test facility (ATF). Coherent edge radiation (CER) is emitted from a compressed electron beam as it traverses sharp edge regions of a magnet. The compression is accompanied by strong self-fields, which are manifested as distortions in the momentum space called beam bifurcation. Recent measurements indicate that the bunch length is approximately 150 fs rms. The emitted THz chicane radiation displays strong signatures of CER. This paper reports on the experimental characterization and subsequent analysis of the chicane radiation measurements at the BNL ATF with a discussion of diagnostics development and implementation. The characterization includes spectral analysis, far-field intensity distribution, and polarization effects. Experimental data is benchmarked to a custom developed start-to-end simulation suite.