Charge asymmetry in the differential cross section of high-energy bremsstrahlung in the field of a heavy atom

Abstract

The distinction between the charged particle and antiparticle differential cross sections of high-energy bremsstrahlung in the electric field of a heavy atom is investigated. The consideration is based on the quasiclassical approximation to the wave functions in the external field. The charge asymmetry (the ratio of the antisymmetric and symmetric parts of the differential cross section) arises due to the account for the first quasiclassical correction to the differential cross section. All evaluations are performed with the exact account of the atomic field. We consider in detail the charge asymmetry for electrons and muons. For electrons, the nuclear size effect is not important while for muons this effect should be taken into account. For the longitudinal polarization of the initial charged particle, the account for the first quasiclassical correction to the differential cross section leads to the asymmetry in the cross section with respect to the replacement $\varphi\rightarrow-\varphi$, where $\varphi$ is the azimuth angle between the photon momentum and the momentum of the final charged particle.