Measurement of electron-beam bunch length and emittance using shot-noise-driven fluctuations in incoherent radiation

Longitudinal and transverse phase space information has been obtained from a statistical analysis of fluctuations in the radiation spectrum of an electron bunch. Uncorrelated shot noise fluctuations in longitudinal beam density result in incoherent radiation with a spectrum that consists of spikes, with width inversely proportional to the bunch length. Measurements were performed at λ=620 nm on a 1--5 ps long, 44 MeV bunch propagating through a wiggler. Bunch length and emittance obtained with this single shot technique agree with independent measurements