Spectral Characteristics of the Radiation Emitted by Electrons Accelerated in a Synchrotron

Expressions are developed for the average power radiated by a high-energy electron moving in a circular orbit. The instantaneous electron energy E(t) is assumed to vary with the time in accordance with E(t)Emsin2(πt/2T). Spectral distributions are obtained corresponding to the radiation emitted over a partial or full acceleration interval. The numerical results predicted from the general relations are examined for a particular value of the peak energy Em=6.0 Bev and the orbital radius R=86.14 ft. In the case of these parameters, the continuous spectrum attains a peak at 0.36 A. Other numerical calculations, related to the case where the radiation is collected only over the low-energy portion of the acceleration interval, indicate that it is feasible to utilize the continuum as a source for measurements in problems of interest to astrophysics and solid state spectroscopy.