Accelerator and Compton gamma-ray source research program at Duke University

The accelerator and Compton gamma-ray source research program at Duke Free-Electron Laser Laboratory (DFELL), TUNL, is focused on the development of the storage ring-based free-electron laser (FEL) and a state-of-the-art Compton gamma-ray source, the High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS) driven by the storage ring FEL. With a maximum total flux of about 3.5E10 gamma/s and a spectral flux of more than 1,000 gamma/s/eV around 10 MeV, the HIGS is the world's highest-flux Compton gamma-ray source. Operated in the energy range from 1 to 120 MeV, the HIGS is a premier Compton gamma-ray facility in the world for a variety of nuclear physics research programs, both fundamental and applied. In this work, we will describe our recent FEL development to enable the production of gamma rays in the higher energy range from 100 and 120 MeV. We will also provide a summary of our recent activities in accelerator and FEL physics research and Compton gamma-ray source development.