Bremsstrahlung from Proton Bombardment of Nuclei

Abstract

Various targets were bombarded with 38- to 185-MeV protons. Photons from these targets were viewed at experimentally available angles from the proton beam with a 180-deg pair spectrometer capable of detection in the photon energy range of 8 to 150 MeV. The accumulated spectra above 20 MeV, after substraction of some ${\pi }^0$ photon contamination, are assumed to be due to proton bremsstrahlung. The general spectral features are explained in terms of electric-dipole radiation from $p-n$ collisions, where the target neutrons are in motion. The detailed features are discussed in terms of the available theoretical predictions; there is good agreement with the phenomenological calculation using $n-p$ scattering data.