Polarization correlations in electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung: the short-wavelength limit

Abstract

The short-wavelength limit of the electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung is re-investigated with special emphasis on the polarization correlations between incoming electron and emitted photons. A theoretical analysis of these correlations is performed within both the rigorous relativistic Dirac theory and the Dirac-Sommerfeld-Maue (DSM) approach which approximates the initial electronic state by a Sommerfeld-Maue wavefunction. Based on detailed calculations carried out for bremsstrahlung of electrons scattered from medium- and high-Z bare ions, we argue that the DSM approach is complementary to the exact partial-wave theory at sufficiently high collision energies. For such high-relativistic domains predictions are made for the polarization correlations relating to linearly polarized radiation.