Compton Polarimetry at ELSA Available to Purchase

Part of the future polarization program performed at the Bonn accelerator facility ELSA will rely on precision Compton polarimetry of the stored transversely polarized electron beam. Precise and fast polarimetry poses high demands on the light source and the detector which were studied in detail performing numerical simulations of the Compton scattering process. In order to experimentally verify these calculations, first measurements were carried out using an argon ion laser as light source and a prototype version of a counting silicon microstrip detector. Calculated and measured intensity profiles of backscattered photons are presented and compared, showing excellent agreement. Background originating from beam gas radiation turned out to be the major limitation of the polarimeter performance. In order to improve the situation, a new polarimeter was constructed and is currently being set up. Design and expected performance of this polarimeter upgrade are presented.