Speaker
Description
A nearly monochromatic, polarized gamma-ray beam is a powerful tool
for nuclear physics research, ranging from collective motions to
strong interactions between nucleons, and to the dynamics of quarks and gluons.
Laser-driven Compton gamma-ray sources have been developed and operated
worldwide since the late 1970s. The High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS)
at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory is currently
the highest flux and most versatile source in operation.
Driven by a high peak power storage ring free-electron laser (FEL),
the HIGS produces highly polarized gamma-ray beams with energies
ranging from 1 to 120 MeV, with a peak performance of total flux up
to 3E10 g/s and a spectral flux of more than 1E3 g/s/eV in the 10 MeV region.
In this presentation, I will discuss the operation principle of the
HIGS facility, developments to achieve a wide energy range, maximum flux,
and high resolution, as well as new capabilities being developed such as
pulsed mode operation, two-color beams, and precision polarization control.
I will also comment on the possible directions for next-generation Compton
gamma-ray sources driven by conventional charged particle accelerators.
