The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source accelerates electrons to relativistic speeds, creating an electron beam which emits radiation as it bends around the storage ring. The synchrotron radiation produced is valued by scientists for the high powered x-rays it gives off which allow them to study samples at the atomic and molecular level.
This project focuses on the mathematical modeling of synchrotron radiation using visible light. The current model used to characterize beam size at SSRL uses a Gaussian approximation for the radiation distribution, which is similar to but distinct from the Schwinger equations that are the theoretical model for the intensity distribution of the beam. The beam size characterization model is complex and takes into account the incoherent depth of field effect by using the Gaussian approximations, which we seek to replace with the Schwinger equations. In order to understand the potential difference in beam size characterization brought about by replacing the Gaussian approximations with the Schwinger equations, we have also taken intensity measurements of the 532 nanometer wavelength component of the beam to analyze the Stokes parameters as well as compare the Schwinger equations to measured data
