A compact polarized positron source for Jefferson Lab is discussed. This scheme relies upon a high polarization (85%), high current (1 mA), low-energy (<100 MeV) electron beam to generate polarized positrons in a conversion target via polarized bremsstrahlung and pair creation. GEANT4 is used to simulate source distributions suitable for a CEBAF-like injector with positron polarization ~60% and nano-Ampere intensity. An experiment to test this scheme is outlined.
We discuss the basis of polarized positron production by low energy polarized electrons. Efficiency of conversion ~0.1-1% might be interesting for CEBAF facility and ILC as well.
A novel concept for producing polarized positrons at Jefferson Lab using the CEBAF polarized electron photo-injector is presented. This approach relies on the polarization transfer from low energy highly polarized electrons to positrons via bremsstrahlung followed by pair production in a conversion target. An experiment to test this concept is discussed on the basis of GEANT4 simulations. It is shown that this low energy approach, which benefits from recent advances in high current high polarization electron sources, can yield positron longitudinal polarization up to 40%.
The nuclear physics experiments at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility often require longitudinally polarized electrons to be simultaneously delivered to three experimental halls. The degree of longitudinal polarization to each hall varies as function of the accelerator settings, making it challenging in certain situations to deliver a high degree of longitudinal polarization to all the halls simultaneously. Normally, the degree of longitudinal polarization the halls receive is optimized by changing the initial spin direction at the beginning of the machine with a Wien filter. H…
If a beam of unpolarized positrons (which is considered as a sum of two fractions with opposite helicities) passes through an intense circular polarized laser radiation these fractions may be separated. For high laser flash intensity each positron will interact with $k_0\gg$1 laser photons subsequently (linear multiple compton scattering process). Due to difference in the compton cross-section for positrons polarized in opposite directions the mean final energy of each fraction will be different. It allows to get a polarized positron beam using the momentum selection (with some intensity loss)…
For a number of physical studies which are planned to be made with the next generation colliders, it is necessary to use polarized beams of both electrons and positrons. The problem of producing and acceleration of polarized electrons may be considered to be solved, but the existing approaches to create polarized positron beams do not ensure the parameters required. This work proposes a new approach to produce polarized positron beams, which is based on the process of multiple Compton backscattering of unpolarized ultrarelativistic positrons in the field of intense circularly polarized laser w…
Positron sources are critical components of the future linear collider projects. This is essentially due to the high luminosity required, orders of magnitude higher than existing ones. In addition, polarization of the positron beam rather expands the physics research potential of the machine. In this framework, the Compton sources for polarized positron production are taken into account where the high energy gamma rays are produced by the Compton scattering and subsequently converted into the polarized electron-positron pairs in a target-converter. The Compton multiple Interaction Point (IP) l…
The new method for producing of the polarized relativistic positrons is suggested. A beam of unpolarized positrons accelerated up to a few GeV can be polarized during a head-on collision with an intense circularly polarized lazer wave. After a multiple Compton backscattering process the initial positrons may lose a substantial part of its energy and, as consequence, may acquire the significant longitudinal polarization. The simple formulas for the final positron energy and polarization degree depended on the laser flash parameters have been obtained. The comparison of efficiences for the sugge…
An unprecedented positron average current is required to fit the luminosity demands of future $e^+e^-$ high energy physics colliders. In addition, in order to access precision-frontier physics, these machines require positron polarization to enable exploring the polarization dependence in many HEP processes cross sections, reducing backgrounds and extending the reach of chiral physics studies beyond the standard model. The ILC has a mature plan for the polarized positron source based on conversion in a thin target of circularly polarized gammas generated by passing the main high energy e-beam …
To achieve the extremely high luminosity for colliding electron-positron beams at the future International Linear Collider (ILC) an undulator-based source with about 230 meters helical undulator and a thin titanium-alloy target rim rotated with tangential velocity of about 100 meters per second are foreseen. The very high density of heat deposited in the target has to be analyzed carefully. The energy deposited by the photon beam in the target has been calculated in FLUKA. The resulting stress in the target material after one bunch train has been simulated in ANSYS.
The use of polarized beams enhance the possibility of the precision measurements at the International Linear Collider (ILC). In order to preserve the degree of polarization during beam transport spin rotators are included in the current TDR ILC Lattice. In this report some advantages of using a combined spin rotator/spin flipper are discussed. A few possible lattice designs of spin flipper developed at DESY in 2012 are presented.
Recent advances in electron and positron sources have resulted in new capabilities driven in most cases by the increasing demands of advanced accelerating systems. Electron sources for brighter beams and for high average-current beams are described. The status and remaining challenges for polarized electron beams are also discussed. For positron sources, recent activity in the development of polarized positron beams for future colliders is reviewed. Finally, a new proposal for combining laser cooling with beam polarization is presented.
The ILC baseline design for the positron source is based on radiation from a helical undulator to produce positrons in a thin target. Since the photon beam created in the helical undulator is circularly polarized, the generated positron beam is longitudinally polarized. Using a photon collimator upstream the positron target the positron polarization can be enhanced. However, the photon beam intensity yields a huge thermal load in the collimator material. In this paper the thermal load and heat dissipation in the photon collimator is discussed and design solutions are suggested.
The Polarized Electrons for Polarized Positrons (PEPPo) experiment has demonstrated the efficient transfer of polarization from electrons to positrons produced by the bremsstrahlung radiation of a polarized electron beam in a high-$Z$ target. Positron polarization up to 82\% has been measured for an initial electron beam momentum of 8.19 MeV/$c$, limited only by the electron beam polarization. Combined with the high intensity and high polarization performances of polarized electron sources, this technique extends efficient polarized positron capabilities from GeV to MeV electron accelerators. …
Various methods of obtaining longitudinally polarized positrons for future linear colliders are reviewed. Special attention is paid to the schemes using circularly polarized high-energy photons for positron production. Most effectively such photons are obtained from electrons passing through a helical undulator or colliding with a circularly polarized laser wave. Spectrum and polarization of radiation emitted during helical motion of electrons are considered in detail. A new simple presentation of known formulas is used to account for the influence of the wave intensity, of the electron-beam a…
To achieve the physics goals of future Linear Colliders, it is important that electron and positron beams are polarized. The positron source planned for the International Linear Collider (ILC) is based on a helical undulator system and can deliver a polarised beam with positron polarization of 60%. To ensure that no significant polarization is lost during the transport of the electron and positron beams from the source to the interaction region, spin tracking has to be included in all transport elements which can contribute to a loss of polarization. These are the positron source, the damping …
High energy e+e- linear colliders are the next large scale project in particle physics. They need intense sources to achieve the required luminosity. In particular, the positron source must provide about 10E+14 positrons per second. The positron source for the International Linear Collider (ILC) is based on a helical undulator passed by the electron beam to create an intense circularly polarized photon beam. With these photons a longitudinally polarized positron beam is generated; the degree of polarization can be enhanced by collimating the photon beam. However, the high photon beam intensity…
Polarized positron beams are in some respect mandatory complements to polarized electron beams. The advent of the PEPPo concept for polarized positron production opens the possibility for the developement at the Jefferson Laboratory of a continuous polarized positron beam. The benefits of such a beam for hadronic structure studies are discussed, together with the technical and technological challenges to face.
The design of the positron source for the International Linear Collider (ILC) is still under discussion. The baseline design plans to use the high-energy electron beam for the positron production before it goes to the IP. The electrons pass a long helical undulator and generate an intense circularly polarized photon beam which hits a thin conversion target to produce $e^+e^-$ pairs. The resulting positron beam is longitudinally polarized which provides an important benefit for precision physics analyses at the ILC. In this paper the status of the positron target design studies is presented. Fo…
Intense positron beams can be prepared via electro production with the reaction $e^{-} + e^{-} \rightarrow e^{-}+e^{+}+e^{-}+e^{-}$ due to the availability of high current electron beams. Head on collisions inside of a magnetic field of a solenoid are used to produce unpolarized/polarized positrons via $e^{-}-e^{+}$ - pair production. A flux of unpolarized positrons, $N_{positron}=6.55 \cdot 10^{11} s^{-1}$, has been obtained as a result of calculations for a special case of parameters with beam currents for both electron beams of $I_{e}$=10 mA and beam momenta of $p_{beam 1}$=0.63 MeV/c and $…
The design of the positron source for the International Linear Collider (ILC) is still under consideration. The baseline design plans to use the electron beam for the positron production before it goes to the IP. The high-energy electrons pass a long helical undulator and generate an intense circularly polarized photon beam which hits a thin conversion target to produce $e^+e^-$ pairs. The resulting positron beam is longitudinally polarized which provides an important benefit for precision physics analyses. In this paper the status of the design studies is presented with focus on ILC250. In pa…
In the future the International Linear Collider (ILC), a helical undulator-based polarized positron source, is expected to be chosen. A high energy electron beam passes through a superconducting helical undulator in order to create circularly polarized photons which will be directed to a conversion target, resulting in electron-positron pairs. The resulting positron beam is longitudinally polarized. Since the photons are produced with an opening angle and pass through a long superconducting helical undulator, some of these photons will strike the undulator walls. Therefore photon masks must be…
The Polarized Electrons for Polarized Positrons experiment at the injector of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility has demonstrated for the first time the efficient transfer of polarization from electrons to positrons produced by the polarized bremsstrahlung radiation induced by a polarized electron beam in a high-$Z$ target. Positron polarization up to 82\% have been measured for an initial electron beam momentum of 8.19~MeV/$c$, limited only by the electron beam polarization. This technique extends polarized positron capabilities from GeV to MeV electron beams, and opens access …
In order to achieve the physics goals of future Linear Colliders, it is important that electron and positron beams are polarized. The baseline design at the International Linear Collider (ILC) foresees an e+ source based on helical undulator. Such a source provides high luminosity and polarizations. The positron source planned for ILC is based on a helical undulator system and can deliver a positron polarization of 60%. To ensure that no significant polarization is lost during the transport of the e- and e+ beams from the source to the interaction region, precise spin tracking has to be includ…
We study elementary particle reactions that result from the interaction of an atomic system with a very intense laser wave of circular polarization. As a specific example, we calculate the rate for the laser-driven reaction $e^+e^- \to μ^+μ^-$, where the electron and positron originate from a positronium atom or, alternatively, from a nonrelativistic $e^+e^-$ plasma. We distinguish accordingly between the coherent and incoherent channels of the process. Apart from numerical calculations, we derive by analytical means compact formulas for the corresponding reaction rates. The rate for the coher…
A novel scheme is proposed for generating a polarized positron beam via multiphoton Breit-Wheeler process during the collision of a 10 GeV, pC seeding electron beam with the other 1 GeV, nC driving electron beam. The driving beam provides the strong self-generated field, and a suitable transverse deviation distance between two beams enables the field experienced by the seeding beam to be unipolar, which is crucial for realizing the positron polarization. We employ the particle simulation with a Monte-Carlo method to calculate the spin- and polarization-resolved photon emission and electron-pos…
Nuclear physics experiments at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility's CEBAF rely on high polarization electron beams. We describe a recently commissioned system for prequalifying and studying photocathodes for CEBAF with a load-locked, low-voltage polarized electron source coupled to a compact retarding-field Mott polarimeter. The polarimeter uses simplified electrode structures and operates from 5 to 30 kV. The effective Sherman function for this device has been calibrated by comparison with the CEBAF 5 MeV Mott polarimeter. For elastic scattering from a thick gold target at 20 keV,…
Positron beams, both polarized and non-polarized, low and high energy have a wide range of applications and many methods can be used to produce them. In this paper we analyse the two main methods used to produce positrons for accelerator applications, the "traditional" electro-production and the more recent "photo-production". After having determined the best target material, the positron production yield is determined for various target thickness and primary beam energy. Production efficiency up to about 7.6% and 200% are achievable for photo-production and electro-production respectively. Th…
Full exploitation of the physics potential of a future International Linear Collider will require the use of polarized electron and positron beams. Experiment E166 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has demonstrated a scheme in which an electron beam passes through a helical undulator to generate photons (whose first-harmonic spectrum extended to 7.9MeV) with circular polarization, which are then converted in a thin target to generate longitudinally polarized positrons and electrons. The experiment was carried out with a one-meter-long, 400-period, pulsed helical undulator in the…
The Stokes parameters have been found in the framework of quantum electrodynamics for the description of polarization of radiation emitted by relativistic positrons channeled between (110) planes in Si crystal. The degree of polarization, which is simply given by the contribution of channeling radiation, has been analyzed. Numerical calculation are presented for the frequencies that are most interesting for the sources of polarized high-energy photons.
In a number of papers an attractive method of laser polarization of electrons (positrons) at storage rings or linear colliders has been proposed. We show that these suggestions are incorrect and based on errors in simulation of multiple Compton scattering and in calculation of the Compton spin-flip cross sections. We argue that the equilibrium polarization in this method is zero.
In the future, International Linear Collider (ILC), a helical undulator based polarized positron source is expected to be chosen. A high energy electron beam passes through a superconducting helical undulator in order to create circularly polarized photons which will be directed to a conversion target, the result of which, will be electron-positron pairs. The resulting positron beam is longitudinally polarized. In order to produce the required number of positrons in ILC250 the full undulator length is needed. Since the photons are created with an opening angle and traveling through a 320 m lon…
The generation and capture of polarized positrons at a source with a superconducting helical undulator having 4.3 cm period and 500 GeV electron drive beam have been simulated. The positron polarization has been calculated for the different undulator K values (up to K = 2.5). Without applying a photon collimator, the maximal polarization of positrons is about 25% for 231 meters active magnet length of undulator with K = 0.7. Using an undulator with K = 2.5 and a collimator with an aperture radius of 0.9 mm results in increase of positron polarization to 54%. The energy deposition, temperature …
The acceleration of polarized electrons, positrons, protons and ions in strong laser and plasma fields is a very attractive option to obtain polarized beams in the multi-MeV range. Recently, there has been substantial progress in the understanding of the dominant mechanisms leading to high degrees of polarization, in the numerical modelling of these processes and in their experimental implementation. This review article presents an overview on the current status of the field, on the concepts of polarized laser-plasma accelerators and of the beam polarimetry.
The results of Monte-Carlo simulations of electron-positron-photon cascades initiated by slow electrons in circularly polarized fields of ultra-high strength are presented and discussed. Our results confirm previous qualitative estimations [A.M. Fedotov, et al., PRL 105, 080402 (2010)] of the formation of cascades. This sort of cascades has revealed the new property of the restoration of energy and dynamical quantum parameter due to the acceleration of electrons and positrons by the field and may become a dominating feature of laser-matter interactions at ultra-high intensities. Our approach i…
This report presents a brief summary of the science opportunities and program of a polarized medium energy electron-ion collider at Jefferson Lab and a comprehensive description of the conceptual design of such a collider based on the CEBAF electron accelerator facility.
Circularly polarized colliding laser pulses can create abundant electron-positron pair plasma [A. R. Bell and J. G. Kirk, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 200403 (2008)], which scattering the incoming electromagnetic waves can prevent them from reaching the critical field of Quantum Electrodynamics causing vacuum breakdown and polarization. It is shown that the effects of radiation friction and the electron-positron avalanche development depend on the electromagnetic wave polarization. For circularly polarized colliding pulses, which force the electrons to move in circles, these effects dominate not only…
Future electron-positron linear colliders require a highly polarized electron beam with a pulse structure that depends primarily on whether the acceleration utilizes warm or superconducting rf structures. The International Linear Collider (ILC) will use cold structures for the main linac. It is shown that a dc-biased polarized photoelectron source such as successfully used for the SLC can meet the charge requirements for the ILC micropulse with a polarization approaching 90%.
