First studies of 500-nm Cherenkov radiation from 255-MeV electrons in a diamond crystal

• Cherenkov light from 255-MeV electrons in a diamond crystal has been investigated.
• The Cherenkov light from channeled electrons has been observed for the first time.
• The experimental results are in good agreement with theory.

The first experiment on Cherenkov light from 255-MeV electrons passing through a 50-μm-thick diamond crystal in a special geometry allowing extraction of 500-nm Cherenkov light at a right angle with respect to the electron beam direction has been performed at the injector linac of SAGA Light Source accelerator facility. The dependence of 500-nm Cherenkov light intensity (separated by a band-pass filter) on the crystal rotation angle was measured by a CCD detector. The experimentally obtained rocking curve with an intense maximum is theoretically explained as the projector effect of Cherenkov light deflected by the exit surface of the crystal. The width of the rocking curve is explained by the convolution of the standard Tamm–Frank angular distribution of Cherenkov radiation with chromatic aberration, the multiple scattering of electrons in a crystal, and initial electron beam angular divergence. In addition, it is found that the Cherenkov light intensity did not change under the (220) planar channeling condition, which is consistent with a recent theory.