Observation of redshifting and harmonic radiation in inverse Compton scattering

• Published in: Physical review special topics. PRST-AB. Accelerators and beams 2015-06, Vol.18 (6), p.060702, Article 060702
• Main Authors: Sakai, Y., Pogorelsky, I., Williams, O., O’Shea, F., Barber, S., Gadjev, I., Duris, J., Musumeci, P., Fedurin, M., Korostyshevsky, A., Malone, B., Swinson, C., Stenby, G., Kusche, K., Babzien, M., Montemagno, M., Jacob, P., Zhong, Z., Polyanskiy, M., Yakimenko, V., Rosenzweig, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attenuation; Blue shift; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide lasers; Circular polarization; Elastic scattering; Electrodynamics; Electron beams; Emission analysis; Harmonic radiation; Higher harmonics; Lasers; Linear polarization; Nonlinear phenomena; PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; Photon beams; Photons; Radiation; Red shift; X-rays
• ISSN: 1098-4402; 1098-4402; 2469-9888
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.18.060702

Inverse Compton scattering of laser photons by ultrarelativistic electron beam provides polarized x- to γ -ray pulses due to the Doppler blueshifting. Nonlinear electrodynamics in the relativistically intense linearly polarized laser field changes the radiation kinetics established during the Compton interaction. These are due to the induced figure-8 motion, which introduces an overall redshift in the radiation spectrum, with the concomitant emission of higher order harmonics. To experimentally analyze the strong field physics associated with the nonlinear electron-laser interaction, clear modifications to the angular and wavelength distributions of x rays are observed. The relativistic photon wave field is provided by the ps CO2 laser of peak normalized vector potential of 0.5