Direct Measurement of the Formation Length of Photons

We report the first observation of a shoulder in the radiation spectrum from GeV electrons in a structured target consisting of two thin and closely spaced foils. The position of the shoulder depends on the target spacing and is directly connected to the finite formation length of a low-energy photon emitted by an ultrarelativistic electron. With the present setup it is possible to control the separation of the foils on a μm scale and hence measure interference effects caused by the macroscopic dimensions of the formation length. Several theoretical groups have predicted this effect using different methods. Our observations have a preference for the modified theory by Blankenbecler but disagree with the results of Baier and Katkov.