Optimizing Photon Yield and Angular Frequency Range Through the Use of RF Laser Chirping
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Inverse Compton Scattering occurs when an electron collides with an incident photon and transfers some of its kinetic energy to said photon. For a while now this has been an effective method of generating photons of higher angular momentum for use in many areas of physics, but it is not without its drawbacks like ponderomotive broadening. It has been shown that laser chirping is an effective method of mitigating the effects of ponderomotive broadening in Inverse Compton Scattering sources which causes the scattered photons to cover a range of angular frequencies, many of which are not wanted. Producing photons of a desired angular frequency in large numbers is a problem faced in a number of fields of physics. This paper will show that our chirping prescription can minimize the spectral peak width (limit the range of photon frequencies) and maximize the spectral peak height (increase the number of photons of the desired angular frequency). Additionally, this paper will demonstrate how this chirping prescription can provide marked improvement for real world applications where increasing laser intensity is cost prohibitive and ineffective.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Dr. Balsa Terzic
Presentation Type
Poster
Disciplines
Plasma and Beam Physics
Session Title
Poster Session
Location
Learning Commons, Northwest Atrium
Start Date
2-2-2019 8:00 AM
End Date
2-2-2019 12:30 PM
Optimizing Photon Yield and Angular Frequency Range Through the Use of RF Laser Chirping
Learning Commons, Northwest Atrium
Inverse Compton Scattering occurs when an electron collides with an incident photon and transfers some of its kinetic energy to said photon. For a while now this has been an effective method of generating photons of higher angular momentum for use in many areas of physics, but it is not without its drawbacks like ponderomotive broadening. It has been shown that laser chirping is an effective method of mitigating the effects of ponderomotive broadening in Inverse Compton Scattering sources which causes the scattered photons to cover a range of angular frequencies, many of which are not wanted. Producing photons of a desired angular frequency in large numbers is a problem faced in a number of fields of physics. This paper will show that our chirping prescription can minimize the spectral peak width (limit the range of photon frequencies) and maximize the spectral peak height (increase the number of photons of the desired angular frequency). Additionally, this paper will demonstrate how this chirping prescription can provide marked improvement for real world applications where increasing laser intensity is cost prohibitive and ineffective.