Search for the lepton-family-number nonconserving decay \mu -> e + \gamma

The MEGA experiment, which searched for the muon- and electron-number violating decay \mu -> e + \gamma, is described. The spectrometer system, the calibrations, the data taking procedures, the data analysis, and the sensitivity of the experiment are discussed. The most stringent upper limit on the branching ratio of \mu -> e + \gamma) < 1.2 x 10^{-11} was obtained