Absolute Doubly Differential Cross Sections for Electron Bremsstrahlung from Rare Gas Atoms at 28 and 50keV

Absolute doubly differential bremsstrahlung cross sections from Xe, Kr, Ar, and Ne have been measured for electron bombarding energies of 28 and 50keV. Bremsstrahlung photons have been detected at 90° to the incident electron beam at energies ranging from 5keV up to the kinematic end point. The results are compared with predictions of ordinary bremsstrahlung and of total bremsstrahlung that include polarizational bremsstrahlung from the target atom calculated in the stripping approximation. All previous absolute cross sections have been from thin-film solid targets and have not shown any polarizational bremsstrahlung contribution. The present results, the first from free atoms, provide definitive evidence for the contribution of polarizational bremsstrahlung to the photon spectrum from electron bremsstrahlung.