Polarization measurement of stored electron beam using Touschek lifetime

Touschek lifetime of an electron beam in a storage ring depends on the beam polarization through the intrabeam scattering effect. Therefore, the electron beam polarization can be determined from the Touschek lifetime measurement. In this paper, we report on a systematic experimental procedure we developed to study the radiative polarization of a stored electron beam. Using this technique, we successfully observed the radiative polarization of an electron beam in the Duke storage ring, and determined the equilibrium degree of polarization and the time constant of the polarization build-up process.