BL4S - Proposal Johannesburg - 0
BL4S - Proposal Johannesburg - 0
BL4S - Proposal Johannesburg - 0
Undulator
Radiation
Proposed
by
Accelerating
Africa
Introduction
We
are
a
collaboration
of
grade
11
students
from
St
John's
College
and
Barnato
Park
High
School.
Science
is
a
deeply-‐rooted
passion
of
ours.
We
realise
that
we
can
make
a
significant
impact
in
Science
education
in
South
Africa
if
we
are
able
to
carry
out
our
experiment
at
CERN.
South
Africa
is
a
developing
country,
and
scientific
research
is
vital
to
our
sustainability
and
socio-‐economic
growth.
We
firmly
believe
that
the
impact
that
we
could
make
would
not
only
benefit
the
world,
but
also
create
a
strong
scientific
culture
in
South
Africa.
With
the
Square
Kilometer
Array
(SKA)
coming
to
South
Africa,
we
believe
our
country
has
huge
potential
to
be
a
scientific
hub
in
Africa
and
students
in
South
Africa
need
to
be
the
future
scientists.
2015
is
the
International
Year
of
Light.
We
have
been
fascinated
by
the
history
of
synchrotrons
from
the
first
accidental
observation
of
synchrotron
radiation
to
the
recent
development
of
3rd
generation
synchrotrons
and
Free
Electron
Lasers.
We
therefore
propose
an
experiment
that
could
be
the
next
step
in
the
production
of
brilliant
light
sources.
Electromagnetic
radiation
has
and
continues
to
form
the
basis
of
modern
technology,
and
we
have,
therefore,
proposed
an
experiment
to
produce
high
energy
gamma
rays
using
a
crystalline
undulator
which
we
would
love
to
conduct
at
CERN.
Background
The
acceleration
of
subatomic
charged
particles
causes
radiation.
Acceleration
can
be
achieved
by
means
of
curved
motion.
Initially
this
was
achieved
using
bending
magnets,
but
as
the
need
for
higher
intensity
sources
became
apparent,
magnetic
undulators
were
used
to
produce
very
narrow
beams
of
near-‐coherent
light.
It
has
been
realised
that
a
crystalline
undulator
with
a
small
amplitude
and
a
short
period
would
be
able
to
achieve
coherent
beams
of
radiation
whose
brightness
would
be
several
orders
of
magnitude
greater
still.
The
size
of
a
crystal
undulator
is
very
space
efficient
compared
to
magnetic
undulators
currently
used,
but
yet
able
to
achieve
significant
magnetic
fields
when
relativistic
beams
of
particles
are
used.
A
crystalline
undualtor
could
produce
“light”
in
the
gamma-‐ray
regime.
Our
Experiment
The
University
of
Johannesburg
collaborates
with
many
institutions.
As
a
result,
we
would
be
able
to
bring
to
CERN
a
crystal
undulator
to
conduct
our
experiment.
The
crystal
is
specifically
grown
using
either
carbon
with
boronated
layers
or
silicon
with
germanium
laden
layers
incorporated.
The
boron
or
germanium
atoms
cause
the
crystal
lattice
to
swell
and
thus
graded
doping
creates
a
tiny
undulating
channel
through
which
the
subatomic
particles
(electrons,
positrons
or
muons)
can
be
fired.
As
the
particles
accelerate
as
a
result
of
the
undulation,
we
will
detect
and
measure
the
resulting
radiation.
By
controlling
the
incident
beam,
we
should
be
able
to
tune
the
resulting
gamma
ray
radiation.
A
gamma
ray
source,
that
could
potentially
be
made
into
a
gamma
ray
laser,
has
huge
potential.
Experimental
setup
We
propose
to
use
the
beam
line
at
CERN
to
initially
produce
a
positron
beam
to
fire
through
our
crystal.
We
intend
to
measure
the
effects
of
a
positron
beam
passing
through
the
crystal
and
later
repeat
the
experiment
to
obtain
results
for
an
electron
beam.
The
secondary
beam
produced
by
the
proton
beam
colliding
with
the
target
will
contain
a
huge
variety
of
particles.
We
will
select
the
particles
that
are
required.
The
collimator
and
the
2
first
two
bend
magnets
will
allow
us
to
select
only
the
positively
charged
particles
within
a
particular
momentum
range
(0.5-‐10
GeV).
We
will
use
the
Cerenkov
detectors
to
identify
the
particles
that
remain.
These
tagged
particles
will
then
progress
to
be
incident
on
the
crystal.
The
delay
wire
chambers
will
allow
us
to
find
the
positions
of
the
particles
while
the
scintillators
will
provide
a
timestamp
for
the
particles.
In
this
way
we
will
know
the
trajectory
and
identity
of
the
particles
that
are
arriving
at
the
crystal
chamber.
The
MNP17
magnet
will
sweep
away
all
charged
particles
and
allow
all
the
electromagnetic
radiation
to
proceed
to
the
photon
calorimeter.
The
third
delay
wire
chamber
and
the
MNP17
magnet
will
allow
us
to
establish
the
momentum
of
the
particles
that
passed
through
the
crystal,
while
the
third
scintillator
and
the
calorimeter
will
allow
a
redundant
study
of
the
particle
energy.
In
this
way
we
should
be
able
to
determine
the
kinematic
properties
of
the
particle
responsible
for
the
undulator
radiation
that
we
detect.
A
lot
of
analysis
will
be
required
as
we
realise
not
all
the
radiation
detected
at
the
photon
calorimeter
will
be
the
radiation
from
the
crystal
undulator.
All
the
data
collected,
that
the
setup
allows
us
to
measure,
will
allow
this
undulator
radiation
to
be
identified
and
measured
separately.
Gamma
radiation
has
huge
applications
in
nuclear
research
and
holds
the
promise
of
getting
rid
of
nuclear
waste.
The
possibilities
of
further
science
exploration
due
to
the
success
of
the
experiment
are
endless.
How
many
doors
will
our
intriguing
project
open
for
science?
Conclusion
We
realise
that
doing
the
experiment
at
CERN
is
only
the
first
step,
but
we
are
enthusiastic
about
all
the
analysis,
hard
work
and
learning
that
will
follow.
If
we
are
successful
in
being
able
to
conduct
our
experiment
at
CERN,
we
will
work
not
only
on
the
Science,
but
also
on
spreading
the
benefits
and
brilliance
of
Science
to
our
fellow
students
and
communities
around
South
Africa.
We
will
explicitly
state
the
vast
fascination
of
science
while
advertising
its
wonder.
Being
able
to
carry
out
our
experiment
at
CERN
will
inspire
many
students
from
many
schools
to
take
part
in
science
expos,
to
investigate
science
further
and
to
take
this
incredible
subject
at
school
and
at
university.
Acknowledgements
We
are
grateful
to
Professor
Simon
Connell
from
the
University
of
Johannesburg
for
his
encouragement
and
the
lectures
that
he
gave
us.
Our
teacher,
Dr
Colleen
Henning
for
her
enthusiasm
and
guidance
and
to
Mr
Sean
Oates
for
being
there
for
us.
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