The elastic scattering of electrons at 180º from He⁴

Abstract

The elastic scattering of high-energy electrons at 180° from He⁴ has been discussed with the purpose of determining an upper limit to the electric dipole moment λ of the electron. Our calculations have shown that, with the Saskatchewan Linear Electron Accelerator, it will be possible to measure an upper limit as small as λ ≤ 7.1 x 10‾⁶ eħ/m·c without cancellation or masking of the effect of λ on the final results by the second-order effects. Our calculations include the effects, on the final results, of energy losses and multiple scattering encountered by the electrons in traversing the target.