Commissioning and Operation of a Cryogenic Target at HI$\gamma$S

We have developed a cryogenic target for use at the High Intensity $\gamma$-ray Source (HI$\gamma$S). The target system is able to liquefy helium-4 (LHe) at 4~K, hydrogen (LH$_2$) at 20~K, or deuterium (LD$_2$) at 23~K to fill a 0.3~L Kapton cell. Liquid temperatures and condenser pressures are recorded throughout each run in order to ensure that the target's areal density is known to $\sim$1\%. A low-temperature valve enables cycling between full and empty modes in less than 15 minutes. The target is being utilized in a series of experiments which probe the electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon by Compton scattering high-energy photons from the liquid and detecting them with the HI$\gamma$S NaI Detector Array (HINDA). During a 50-hour-long commissioning run last fall, the target held LHe at 3.17~K, followed by a 300-hour-long production run this spring with LD$_2$ at 23.9~K. The design of the target will be presented and its performance during these two runs will be discussed.