Observation of coherent edge radiation emitted by a 100 femtosecond compressed electron beam

A chicane compressor developed by UCLA for the production of ultra-short, 60 MeV electron beams at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Accelerator Test Facility has been commissioned, and initial beam physics experiments have been performed. These measurements have established the compression of electron beams to the 100 femtosecond (1 kA peak current) regime, via coherent transition radiation (CTR) based measurements. Investigations of coherent edge radiation (CER) include signatures that differentiate it from coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR), such as polarization and far-field angular distribution. Additionally, the radiation wavelength spectrum is determined from autocorrelation measurements. Radiation properties are compared to detailed start-to-end simulations derived from PARMELA and QUINDI (a Lienard-Wiechert code developed at UCLA). Plans for future experiments which further explore the observed wavelength spectra are presented.