An experimental test of the LPM effect: Bremsstrahlung suppression at high energies

We are preparing an experiment at SLAC to test the LPM (Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migda) effect. In bremsstrahlung from high energy electrons, the longitudinal momentum transferred from the nucleus is very small. Then, by the uncertainty principle, the interaction must occur over a distance much larger than the atomic scale. In the LPM effect, multiple scattering changes the electron trajectory within the interaction distance, and so suppresses the bremsstrahlung. This effect, predicted in the 1950's, has never been quantitatively studied. For dense, high Z, targets in a 25 GeV electron beam, suppression is significant for photons below a few hundred MeV. By comparing bremsstrahlung from targets of different (Pb, U, W and C), it is possible to measure the suppression accurately. We will also study the longitudinal density effect, where very low energy photon emission is suppressed due to the dielectric effect of the medium