THE LANDAU–POMERANCHUK–MIGDAL EFFECT FOR AMORPHOUS AND CRYSTALLINE MATTER

Abstract

Presented are the conclusions drawn from experimental investigations of the Landau–Pomeranchuk–Migdal (LPM) effect in amorphous and crystalline targets as well as the preceding and ensuing theoretical activities. In amorphous targets the phenomenon is by now well studied both experimentally and theoretically and is at a mature stage where extrapolations to other energies or materials are well founded. In crystalline targets, the effect is not as well studied as it is harder to deconvolute from other effects like e.g. multiple photon emission. Even in this case, though, a seemingly consistent picture of the suppression mechanism that alters the effective radiation length emerges. Due to the increased scattering, crystals might be used to explore hitherto untested regimes of the LPM effect.