Experiment with a crystal-assisted positron source using 6 and 10 GeV electrons

Abstract Axially oriented crystals, penetrated by high-energy electrons, are powerful photon sources and, hence, intense positron sources. Such kinds of positron sources have been studied experimentally at CERN, with the tertiary electron beam of the SPS having an energy of 6 and 10 GeV. Four and eight millimeters thick tungsten crystals and a compound target made of a 4 mm crystal followed by a 4 mm amorphous disk were used with an orientation along the 〈1 1 1〉 axis. The positrons were detected by a drift chamber, partially immersed in a magnetic field. The reconstructed trajectories allowed the determination of their energy and angular spectra. Significant enhancements were observed for the crystal source when compared to the amorphous one. The gain was about 3 for the 4 mm target and about 2 for the 8 mm and the compound targets. These preliminary results are described after short presentations of the experimental set-up and of the method of track reconstruction.