Statistical optics for synchrotron emission : numerical calculation of coherent modes

The context of this thesis is the study of the partial coherence in synchrotron beams produced by ultra low emittance storage rings, like the ESRF-EBS ring under construction. As main objectives we had the understanding, application and development of the underlying physics and the implementation of computer tools able to calculate the relevant parameters.In the first part of this thesis we develop a theory for statistical optics for storage ring radiation. It is based on the brightness convolution theorem by Kim and on the subtle but very important theoretical contributions from Geloni et al. We derive their formulas in a slightly different way or in more a detailed form.We emphasize the importance of the description of the electron beam stochastic for the coherence properties of storage ring emission. We observe that for weak coupling of the longitudinal electron position to the other beam parameters the bunch length is a free parameter in view of coherence properties.We build our description of statistical optics around coherent modes. We show that an ensemble is completely coherent if and only if its coherent mode decomposition is a single mode. Geloni et al. mentioned that the synchrotron storage ring emission is a Gaussian random process. We add that the process has zero mean and is circularly-symmetric. In consequence we can give the spectral degree of coherence a physical interpretation in terms of Gaussian shaped conditional probability densities.We developed and implemented an algorithm that calculates the coherent mode decomposition of the cross spectral density for a given wavelength. It can be applied to electron beams with finite Twiss alpha and with energy spread. We implemented two algorithms. The first version solves the Fredholm equation in a two-dimensional step function basis set. Because of its memory requirements high undulator harmonics or current lattices with high emittances cannot be calculated. To reduce the memory requirements we developed the two-step method that solves the problem first for an electron beam with zero divergence and adds the effects of the divergence in a second step. The algorithms use the eigensolver library SLEPc. The implementations of the algorithms are open source.We present extensive tests of the algorithms. They include a delta-function shaped electron beam, a Gaussian single electron reference electric field, whose results are analytically known, and comparisons to SRW Monte Carlo samplings.We apply the algorithm to some particular cases. We determine how many modes are necessary to incorporate 95% of the spectral density and how the spectral degree of coherence changes. We find that the energy spread adds extra coherent modes. This effect is negligible for current lattices but for the ESRF-EBS lattice it accounts for a significant fraction of the total modes. Shorter undulators and higher harmonics increase the number of modes. A comparison between an undulator placed at a point with finite alpha and at a symmetry point shows no significant differences. A reduction of the ESRF-EBS beam parameters show a decrease of the mode numbers until they reach a single mode. We simulate a simple 1:1 imaging beamline with an aperture in the image plane. A reduction of the aperture size changes the eigenvalue spectrum to fewer and fewer modes that is paid with a decrease of flux. We present a comparison of the calculated cross spectral density with a Gaussian Schell-model, an analytic approximation and a separation approximation. Although there are not negligible errors between the exact calculation and the separation approximation we come to the conclusions that the separation approximation might be a good and quick approximation that allows the calculation on portable computers.We end the thesis with some ideas for future research.