A compton backscattering polarimeter for measuring longitudinal electron polarization

Compton backscattering polarimetry provides a fast measurement of the polarization of an electron beam in a storage ring. Since the method is non-destructive, the polarization of the electrons can be monitored during internal target experiments. At NIKHEF a Compton polarimeter has been constructed to measure the polarization of the longitudinally polarized electrons stored in the AmPS ring. First results obtained with the polarimeter, the first Compton polarimeter to measure the polarization of a stored longitudinally polarized electron beam, are presented in this paper