Detailed studies of a high-density polarized hydrogen gas target for storage rings

A high-density target of polarized atomic hydrogen gas for applications in storage rings was produced by injecting atoms from an atomic beam source into a T-shaped storage cell. The influence of the internal gas target on electron-cooled beams of 27 MeV α-particles and 23 MeV protons in the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring has been studied in detail. Target polarization and target thickness were measured by means of 27 MeV α-particles. For hyperfine states 1 + 2 a target thickness of n = (0.96±0.04) × 1014 H→/cm2 was achieved with the cell walls cooled to 100 K. Working with a weak magnetic holding field (≈5 G) the maximum target polarization was PT = 0.84±0.02 when state 1 and PT = 0.46±0.01 when states 1 + 2 were injected. The target polarization was found to be constant over a period of 3 months with a net charge of Q ≈ 100 C passing the storage cell.