Electron – heavy nucleus bremsstrahlung at highly relativistic impact energies

Bremsstrahlung including the polarization correlations is revisited by presenting a new model which is applied to the short-wavelength limit. The fast incoming electron is described by a SommerfeldMaue function whereas for the outgoing electron an exact Dirac function is used. The cross section for electrons radiatively scattered from gold is calculated in the impact energy range 0.2–10 MeV and is compared to results from the Elwert-Haug theory and to available experimental data and relativistic partial-wave calculations. As an ultrarelativistic benchmark, the polarization correlations for 10 MeV electrons and 3–10 MeV photons are also given.