Speaker
Dr
Stanislav Tashenov
(Physikalisches Institut der Universität Heidelberg)
Description
The angular distribution and linear polarization of bremsstrahlung photons is highly sensitive to the spin of the electrons in relativistic electron-atom collisions. While the former effect was well known, the latter one was observed only in the recent years. We report two experimental studies of linear photon polarization with spin-polarised electron beams at 100 keV and 2 MeV. In these measurements Compton and Rayleigh polarimetry techniques were applied to a segmented germanium detector. The spin-dependent tilt angle of the photon polarization plane with respect to the electron beam axis was found to be of the order of a few degrees at 100 keV, and it was enhanced by more than an order of magnitude at the higher energy. This effect can be used for a spin-diagnostics of electron beams. Here a combination of the photon emission asymmetry and linear polarization measurements can fully characterise the spin-polarization state of the beam: all three polarization components can be simultaneously determined. The results of such a test measurement done at 100 keV will be reported.
Primary author
Dr
Stanislav Tashenov
(Physikalisches Institut der Universität Heidelberg)