Comparison with experimental data of different theoretical approaches to high-energy electron bremsstrahlung including quantum coherence effects

TL;DR

This paper compares various theoretical models of high-energy electron bremsstrahlung, including quantum coherence effects, with experimental data, using reformulated approaches and Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate their accuracy and sensitivity.

Contribution

It reformulates the Baier-Katkov approach for consistent radiation length usage and employs Monte Carlo simulations to compare theoretical predictions with experimental data.

Findings

Both Migdal and Baier-Katkov models reproduce the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal suppression.

Monte Carlo simulations effectively incorporate multiphoton emission and background effects.

The sensitivity of experiments to differences between models is analyzed.

Abstract

The basic expressions for the differential nuclear bremsstrahlung cross section at high electron energy, as derived under different theoretical approaches and approximations to quantum coherence effects, are compared. The Baier-Katkov treatment is reformulated to allow introduction of the same value of the radiation length in all calculations. A dedicated Monte Carlo code is employed for obtaining photon energy spectra in the framework of the Baier-Katkov approach taking into account multiphoton emission, attenuation by pair production, and pile-up with photons from the background. The results of Monte Carlo simulations for both the Migdal and Baier-Katkov descriptions are compared to all available data that show the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal suppression. The issue of the sensitivity of the experiments to the difference of the two approaches is investigated.