Experimental Determination of the Characteristics of a Positron Source Using Channeling

Numerical simulations and `proof of principle' experiments showed clearly the interest of using crystals as photon generators dedicated to intense positron sources for linear colliders. An experimental investigation, using a 10 GeV secondary electron beam, of the SPS-CERN, impinging on an axially oriented thick tungsten crystal, has been prepared and operated between May and August 2000. After a short recall on the main features of positron sources using channeling in oriented crystals, the experimental set-up is described. A particular emphasis is put on the positron detector made of a drift chamber, partially immersed in a magnetic field. The enhancement in photon and positron production in the aligned crystal have been observed in the energy range 5 to 40 GeV, for the incident electrons, in crystals of 4 and 8 mm as in an hybrid target. The first results concerning this experiment are presented hereafter.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Linac200

Prominence-cavity regions observed using SWAP 174A filtergrams and simultaneous eclipse flash spectra

Images from the SWAP (Proba 2 mission) taken at 174A in the Fe IX/X lines are compared to simultaneous slitless flash spectra taken during the last solar total eclipse of July, 11th 2010. Many faint low excitation emission lines together with the HeI and HeII Paschen Alpha chromospheric lines are recorded on eclipse spectra where regions of limb prominences are obtained with space-borne imagers. We consider a deep flash spectrum obtained by summing 80 individual spectra to show the intensity modulations of the continuum. Intensity depressions are observed around the prominences in both eclipse and SWAP images. The prominence cavities are interpreted as a relative depression of plasma density, produced inside the corona surrounding the prominences. Photometric measurements are shown at different scales and different, spectrally narrow, intervals for both the prominences and the coronal background.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, accepted to publish in Sol. Phy

First Metis Detection of the Helium D3 Line Polarization in a Large Eruptive Prominence

Metis on board Solar Orbiter is the space coronagraph developed by an Italian-German-Czech consortium. It is capable of observing solar corona and various coronal structures in the visible-light (VL) and UV (hydrogen Lyα) channels simultaneously for the first time. Here we present observations of a large eruptive prominence on 2021 April 25-26, in the VL, taken during the mission cruise phase, and demonstrate that apart from the broadband continuum emission, which is due to the Thomson scattering on prominence electrons, we detect a significant radiation in the neutral-helium D3 line (587.6 nm), which lies within the Metis VL passband. We show how the prominence looks like in Stokes I, Q, and U. We consider two extreme cases of the prominence magnetic field, and we separate the Stokes I and Q signals pertinent to Thomson scattering and to the D3 line. The degree of linear polarization of the D3 line (both Q and U) indicates the presence of the prominence magnetic field; hence Metis can serve as a magnetograph for eruptive prominences located high in the corona

Coronal mass ejection followed by a prominence eruption and a plasma blob as observed by Solar Orbiter

Context. On 2021 February 12, two subsequent eruptions occurred above the western limb of the Sun, as seen along the Sun-Earth line. The first event was a typical slow coronal mass ejection (CME), followed ∼7 h later by a smaller and collimated prominence eruption, originating south of the CME, followed by a plasma blob. These events were observed not only by the SOHO and STEREOA missions, but also by the suite of remote-sensing instruments on board Solar Orbiter. Aims. We show how data acquired by the Full Sun Imager (FSI), the Metis coronagraph, and the Heliospheric Imager (HI) from the Solar Orbiter perspective can be combined to study the eruptions and different source regions. Moreover, we show how Metis data can be analyzed to provide new information about solar eruptions. Methods. Different 3D reconstruction methods were applied to the data acquired by different spacecraft, including remote-sensing instruments on board Solar Orbiter. Images acquired by the two Metis channels in the visible light (VL) and Hi Ly-α line (UV) were combined to derive physical information about the expanding plasma. The polarization ratio technique was also applied for the first time to Metis images acquired in the VL channel. Results. The two eruptions were followed in 3D from their source region to their expansion in the intermediate corona. By combining VL and UV Metis data, the formation of a post-CME current sheet (CS) was followed for the first time in the intermediate corona. The plasma temperature gradient across a post-CME blob propagating along the CS was also measured for the first time. Application of the polarization ratio technique to Metis data shows that by combining four different polarization measurements, the errors are reduced by ∼5-7%. This constrains the 3D plasma distribution better

Summary of experimental studies at CERN on a positron source using crystal effects

New kind of positron sources for future linear colliders, where the converter is a tungsten crystal oriented on the axis, has been studied at CERN in the WA103 experiment. In such sources the photons which create the $e^+ e^-$ pairs result from channeling radiation and coherent bremsstrahlung. In this experiment electron beams of 6 and 10 GeV were sent on different kinds of targets: a 4 mm thick crystal, a 8 mm thick crystal and a compound taraget (4 mm crystal + 4 mm amorphous disk). An amorphous tungsten target 20 mm thick was also used for comparison with the 8 mm crystal. Tracks of outgoing charged particles were detected and analyzed by a drift chamber in a magnetic field. The energy and angle spectra of the positrons were obtained for energies up to 150 MeV and angles up to 30 degrees. The measured positron distribution in momentum space (longitudinal versus transverse) is also presented, giving a full momentum space description of the source. Results on outgoing photons are also presented. A significant enhancement of both photon and positron production is clearly observed. At 10 GeV incident energy, the positron enhancement factor is 4 for the 4 mm crystal, about 2 for the 8 mm crystal. Besides, the simulation code for the crystal processes is validated by a quite good agreement between the simulated and experimental spectra, both for positrons and photons

Experiment with a crystal-assisted positron source using 6 and 10 GeV electrons

CAS, Théori