Measurement of the linear polarization of the high energy end of electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung

Bremsstrahlung is one of the basic photon-matter processes occurring in collisions of electrons with atoms and ions. Bremsstrahlung in electron-atom collisions has been the object of extensive experimental and theoretical studies [1]. These studies focused on the angular dependence of the intensity distribution of the bremsstrahlung, as well as on its linear polarization [2]. Another production mechanism of primary bremsstrahlung is the collision of ions with atoms. Here, the electrons of the target atom are inelastically scattered off the projectile’s nucleus Coulomb field. Of special interest is the bremsstrahlung production in the domain of strong, unpertubated Coulomb fields, such as they prevail in few-electron, high-Z projectiles [3].