We describe the current status of the DarkLight experiment at Jefferson Laboratory. DarkLight is motivated by the possibility that a dark photon in the mass range 10 to 100 MeV/c 2 could couple the dark sector to the Standard Model. DarkLight will precisely measure electron proton scattering using the 100 MeV electron beam of intensity 5 mA at the Jefferson Laboratory energy recovering linac incident on a windowless gas target of molecular hydrogen. The complete final state including scattered electron, recoil proton, and e + e − pair will be detected. A phase-I experiment has been funded and is expected to take data in the next eighteen months. The complete phase-II experiment is under final design and could run within two years after phase-I is completed. The DarkLight experiment drives development of new technology for beam, target, and detector and provides a new means to carry out electron scattering experiments at low momentum transfers.
Operation of the JLab IR Upgrade FEL at CW powers in excess of 10 kW requires sustained production of high electron beam powers by the driver ERL. This in turn demands attention to numerous issues and effects, including: cathode lifetime; control of beamline and RF system vacuum during high current operation; longitudinal space charge; longitudinal and transverse matching of irregular/large volume phase space distributions; halo management; management of remnant dispersive effects; resistive wall, wake-field, and RF heating of beam vacuum chambers; the beam break up instability; the impact of coherent synchrotron radiation (both on beam quality and the performance of laser optics); magnetic component stability and reproducibility; and RF stability and reproducibility. We discuss our experience with these issues and describe the modus vivendi that has evolved during prolonged high current, high power beam and laser operation.
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