Betatron radiation from a beam driven plasma source

Photons produced by the betatron oscillation of electrons in a beam-driven plasma wake provide a uniquely intense and high-energy source of hard X-rays and gamma rays. This betatron radiation is interesting not only for its high intensity and spectral characteristics, but also because it can be used as a diagnostic for beam matching into the plasma, which is critical for maximizing the energy extraction efficiency of a plasma accelerator stage. At SLAC, gamma ray detection devices have been installed at the dump area of the FACET beamline where the betatron radiation from the plasma source used in the E200 plasma wakefield acceleration experiment may be observed. The ultra-dense, high-energy beam at FACET (2 × 10¹⁰ electrons, 20 × 20μm ² spot, 20 - 100μm length, 20GeV energy) when sent into a plasma source with a nominal density of ∼ 1 × 10¹⁷ cm^-3 will generate synchrotron-like spectra with critical energies well into the tens of MeV. The intensity of the radiation can be increased by introducing a radial offset to the centroid of the witness bunch, which may be achieved at FACET through the use of a transverse deflecting RF cavity. The E200 gamma ray detector has two main components: a 30 × 35cm² phosphorescent screen for observing the transverse extent of the radiation, and a sampling electromagnetic calorimeter outfitted with photodiodes for measuring the on-axis spectrum. To estimate the spectrum, the observed intensity patterns across the calorimeter are fit with a Gaussian-integrated synchrotron spectrum and compared to simulations. Results and observations from the first FACET user run (April-June 2012) are presented.