Optical Diffraction Radiation from a beam off a circular target

TL;DR

This paper derives formulas for optical diffraction radiation produced by high-energy particle beams passing through a circular aperture, analyzing its polarization, spectrum, and sensitivity to beam parameters.

Contribution

It provides new analytical expressions for the diffraction radiation spectrum and polarization, and assesses its sensitivity to beam size and position.

Findings

Spectrum is sensitive to beam size and position

Total photon yield is calculated for detection limits

Expressions for differential angular spectrum are derived

Abstract

We calculate the optical diffraction radiation generated by a bunch of high energy particles as they pass through a round hole within an annular metallic ring. We derive expressions for the differential angular spectrum in the far-field and the intensities of the horizontal and vertical polarizations. The sensitivity of the spectrum to changes in beam size and position is shown. The total photon yield from the bunch is calculated and used to set limits on the detectable wavelengths.