  In 1954, Ashkin, Page and Woodward (hereafter APW) reported on the first
counter experiments to measure the electron-electron and electron-positron
scattering cross-sections at low relativistic energies (0.6-1.7 MeV). Their aim
was to look for the spin and exchange or virtual annihilation effects predicted
by the Moller and Bhabha formulae. Their experiments confirmed these effects,
but the measured cross-sections at 0.61 MeV were significantly smaller than
their predicted values. The authors remarked that these deviations were
`presumably due to multiple scattering'. However, careful reading of the
unpublished theses of Page (1950) and Ashkin (1952), Page's letter (1951) and
the APW paper reveals no credible evidence of multiple scattering at 0.61 MeV;
if anything, the evidence rules against multiple scattering. If multiple
scattering is ruled out, the observations may indicate a departure from quantum
electrodynamics. This departure may be due to a non-Coulomb central force, a
weakening of the spin-statistics connection, or both. Only experiment can tell
which of these possibilities holds true, and therefore we suggest the new
electron-electron scattering experiments be carried out at different energies
(at 0.4-1.0 MeV) and different scattering angles, as well as specific tests for
multiple scattering. We consider a non-Coulomb central force to be very
unlikely, and advance the hypothesis that a fraction of the electron pairs
scatter as spin-zero fermions (which would lower the observed cross-section).
Numerical calculations show that the hypothesis may be tested quantitatively in
a Page-type experiment, even with little improvement in the accuracy he
achieved in 1950.
