Coherent polarization radiation from crystals irradiated with relativistic charged particles

When polarization radiation (polarization bremsstrahlung) occurs in a crystal, the radiation becomes coherent in X-ray wavelengths. This radiation, called coherent polarization radiation (CPR) in this paper, is considered as a possible compact X-ray source because CPR is intense, monochromatic, tunable, small background, and easy to extract. We present a simple theory of CPR with emphasis on its relation to Cherenkov radiation and transition radiation. Various properties of CPR are also discussed.