(Phys.org)
—Scientists at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) have obtained high-resolution
measurements in the infrared spectrum that could change the way research is
conducted using synchrotron light.
CLS
Spectroscopist Brant Billinghurst said he and his colleagues were working on
methods to produce intense terahertz radiation (at the
far end of the infrared spectrum) while
conducting research on the Far-IR beamline, an experimental station at the
CLS.
The
research was recently published under the name "Observation of superradiant synchrotron radiation in the
terahertz region" in Physical Review Special
Topics - Accelerators and Beams.
Billinghurst
said they tried something unusual with the synchrotron that allowed them the
first time to make a high-resolution measurement of superradiant synchrotron
radiation.
"For
this technique to work, you need a synchrotron, electrons in small bunches, and
stable beam. So, it's very specific," said Billinghurst.
Unlike
the high-energy photons needed for experiments using X-rays, the techniques used
in the infrared region benefit from turning the synchrotron energy way down, to
1.5 GeV, making it possible for the technique to
work.
Billinghurst
pointed out that the idea for synchrotron superradiance appears in a definitive
textbook, Classical
Electrodynamics, by physicist John David Jackson, in 1962, but that
no one had actually reported high-resolution results until
now.
These
findings have some interesting implications and could allow for spectroscopy in
the Terahertz region at higher resolution than is currently feasible. This
discovery could have implications for research at synchrotrons around the world.
However, there are a number of technical issues that would have to be solved
before this would be possible, said
Billighurst.
The
infrared spectrum is used for a number of experiments at the CLS, including
better understanding of the materials that compose the
universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment