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Title: Positron Production by X Rays Emitted by Betatron Motion in a Plasma Wiggler

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [2]
  1. University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States)
  2. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford, California 94309 (United States)

Positrons in the energy range of 3-30 MeV, produced by x rays emitted by betatron motion in a plasma wiggler of 28.5 GeV electrons from the SLAC accelerator, have been measured. The extremely high-strength plasma wiggler is an ion column induced by the electron beam as it propagates through and ionizes dense lithium vapor. X rays in the range of 1-50 MeV in a forward cone angle of 0.1 mrad collide with a 1.7 mm thick tungsten target to produce electron-positron pairs. The positron spectra are found to be strongly influenced by the plasma density and length as well as the electron bunch length. By characterizing the beam propagation in the ion column these influences are quantified and result in excellent agreement between the measured and calculated positron spectra.

OSTI ID:
20861047
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.175003; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English