Synchrotron Radiation from a Helical Wiggler

Abstract

The use of Wiggler magnets as an improved source of synchrotron radiation from high energy electron storage rings was proposed a few years ago. Since then it has also been suggested that synchrotron radiation from Wiggler magnets placed in proton machines can be used to monitor energy, dimensions and position of the beam and that this effect is even more interesting in proton storage rings where the need to see the beam is greater. Most of the calculations carried out so far consider radiation from a single particle in a Wiggler which is appropriate when the beam is radiating incoherently. In this paper a general formalism is developed for the case when the beam radiates coherently. These results are then applied to both electron and proton storage rings. For the electron case, an expression is derived for the length of the bunch to be used as a more intense coherent radiation source. For proton machines the radiation can be used to measure energy, current, transverse dimensions and longitudinal density variations in the beam.