Noncoplanarity effects in proton-proton bremsstrahlung

Abstract

Noncoplanarity in proton-proton bremsstrahlung is investigated. Significant effects are observed for certain photon polar angles, ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}.$ Such noncoplanarity effects, not of dynamical origin, are possibly responsible for past disagreements between theory and experiment. The Harvard noncoplanar coordinate system, which avoids kinematic singularities in the cross section, is used in our calculations and is recommended for use in the analysis of experimental data. Alternative methods of presenting cross sections are discussed.