Radiation from multi-GeV electrons and positrons in periodically bent silicon crystal

Abstract: A periodically bent Si crystal is shown to efficiently serve for producing highly monochromatic radiation in a gamma-ray energy spectral range. A short-period small-amplitude bending yields narrow undulator-type spectral peaks in radiation from multi-GeV electrons and positrons channeling through the crystal. Benchmark theoretical results on the undulator are obtained by simulations of the channeling with a full atomistic approach to the projectile-crystal interactions over the macroscopic propagation distances. The simulations are facilitated by employing the MBN Explorer package for molecular dynamics calculations on the meso- bio- and nano-scales. The radiation from the ultra-relativistic channeling projectiles is computed within the quasi-classical formalism. The effects due to the quantum recoil are shown to be significantly prominent in the gamma-ray undulator radiation.