Energy loss of electrons and positrons

 Like heavy charged particle, electrons and positrons also suffer a collisional
energy loss when passing through the matter.

 2nd mechanism of energy loss is emission of electromagnetic radiation

arising from scattering in the electric field of a nucleus (Bremsstrahlung).

 Classically, this may be understood as radiation arising from the

acceleration of the electron (or positron) as it is deviated from its straight line
cause by the electric attraction ( repulsion) of the nucleus.

 At energies below few MeV, Bremsstrahlung is still a relatively small factor.

At a few 10’s of MeV, loss of energy by radiation is comparable to or greater

than the collision-ionization loss.

At energies above the critical energy, Bremsstrahlung dominates completely.

 The energy loss of electrons and positrons is composed of two parts:
 dE   dE   dE 
     
 dx  tot  dx  coll .  dx  rad .
 While the basic mechanism of collision loss outlined for heavy charged
particles is also valid for electrons and positrons, the Bethe-Bloch formula
must be modified somewhat for two reasons.

i. Electron has small mass, the assumption that the incident particle
remains un-deflected during the collision process is therefore invalid.

ii. The collisions are between identical particles, so the calculation must
take into account their indistinguishability.

 These considerations change number of terms in the formula, in particular,

the maximum allowable energy transfer becomes Wmax= Te/2, where Te is the
kinetic energy of the incident electron or positron.
The Bethe-Bloch formula becomes

2
dE Z   (  2)
  2 N Ame c 2re2 2
[ln 2 2
 correction terms ]
dx A 2( I / me c )
Where  is the kinetic energy of particle in units of mec2.
 Bremsstrahlung

 Electrons and positrons are the only particles in which radiation contributes
substantially to the energy loss of particle.

The cross section varies as the inverse square of the particle mass

2 2
 e 
 re2  2
 mc 

The radiation loss by muons (m= 106 MeV), the next lightest particle for
example, is thus roughly 40,000 times smaller than that of electrons.

 Since Bremsstrahlung emission depends on the strength of the electric field

felt by the electron, the amount of screening from the atomic electrons
surrounding the nucleus plays an important role.
Classical electrodynamics:

The radiation emitted per unit time 

(intensity) depends quadratically
2
on the velocity variation:  dE  2 e 2  d v 
  3  dt 
 dt  3 c  
For the particle of charge z and mass m in an absorber with atomic number

dv Ze 2
Z, the acceleration depends on z , thus
dt m
z2Z 2
Bremsstrahlung intensity 
m2
Since it is inversely proportional to the mass of the incident particle, it is
much less probable that a massive charged particle (, K, proton etc.) radiates
photon.
 When the impact parameter is larger than the atomic radius the effective
nuclear charge is screened by the electrons and nuclear field greatly loses its
effect on the incoming particle. This is called complete screening.

 If the impact parameter is smaller than the atomic dimension, there is no

screening effect. The field is approximately the Coulomb field due to the
nucleus of charge Ze.

 However, one can introduce the concept of the effective interaction

distance at which the radiation loss process is affected by the electronic
Coulomb field.

This distance is of the order of  / q , q: recoil momentum of the atom after

the interaction took place.

If  / q is larger compared to the atomic radius the screening effect has to be
taken into account.
 mc 2 h
Screening parameter () is defined as   100
E0 EZ 1/3
E0: Incident energy,
Maximum frequency of the emitted photon h 0  E0  mc 2
E: Final energy of the electron after the emission of photon

For  >> 1 the screening effect can be neglected.

  0 the screening effect is complete.

For the limiting cases, for relativistic energies (calculation by Born

approximation)
i.  >> 1
2 2 d  2 2   2 E0 E 1 
d  4 Z re   1      ln 2
  f ( z )
  3   m0c h 2 
E  1
 , and f(z): Coulomb correction
E0 137
ii.  = 0
2 2 d  2 2  
d  4Z re   1   


 ln 183Z
3 
1/3
 
 f ( z)  
 9


 dE  0
d
    N  h ( E0 , )d
 dx rad . 0 d

N= no. of atoms/cm3 N   N A ; 0  E0
A h

1 0 d
rad .   h ( E0 , )d
E0 0 d
rad. is independent of  and function of material only.
d
is proportional to -1.
d
 For mec2 << E0 << 137mec2Z1/3
 >>1, we have no screening.

2 2  2 E0 1 
rad .  4 Z re   ln 2
  f (z) 
 me c 3 

 For E0 >> 137mec2Z1/3 , =0

(complete screening)
 1 
rad .  4 Z 2 re2  
ln 183 Z 1/3

18
 f ( z ) 
Collisional loss varies ln of energy and linearly with Z.

Radiation loss increases almost linearly with E and quadratically with Z.

Another difference is that collisional loss is quasicontinuous along the path

of the electron or positron, atmost all the radiation energy can be emitted in
one or two photons.

Electron-electron Bremsstrahlung:

Similar expression, Z2 is replaced by Z.

 dE   dE 
Critical energy:      for E  Ec
 dx rad .  dx coll .

1600mec2
Ec  Bethe & Heitler
Z
Range:

 Susceptibility to multiple scattering:

difficult to calculate range (do not have well defined range)

Electron trajectory is drawn on a scale 10 times smaller than the trajectory

of the proton and -particle.

Typical trajectory for electron Proton -particle

(few cm) (0.8 mm) (70 m)

Energy  10 MeV in Si
 Interaction of X-rays and gamma-rays in matter

X-rays: 1-100 keV

-rays: above 100 keV.

For -rays (photon), nothing happens till the photon encounters single atom.
(Notice the difference: For charged particles, interaction with many
electrons and nuclei)

Three possible interactions:

Photoelectric effect, Compton effect and electron-positron pair creation

Photoelectric effect:

 Electron is knocked out of atom. If the energy is sufficiently high, most

tightly bound electron is knocked out. This is K-shell electron.

Ekinetic= ћ-Ebinding where, Ebinding : Binding energy of electron.

There is a rearrangement of electrons in the atomic shell.

The outer electron jumps to the inner orbit and X-ray is emitted.

Sometimes the excess energy is dissipated as an Auger electron.

 In the Auger process, an electron from the outer shell falls into the inner
vacancy, and another electron from the outer shell is expelled from the atom
and takes up the excess energy.
Zn
  const. 3.5 Z: charge of the nucleus,
E n varies between 4 and 5 over the energy range

 Every time the photon energy crosses the threshold corresponding to the
binding energy of a inner electron, the cross section suddenly increases.

This process cannot occur with free electron (discussion in tutorial session).
Compton scattering:

 Elastic collision between a

photon and an electron.
Photon energy: ћ
momentum: ћ/c

 Energy-momentum
conservation


 ' 
  
1 2
(1  cos 
 me c 
 Electron has to be a free
electron, not bound to an atom.
(discussion in tutorial session)
 Differential scattering cross-section:

2
d r02   '     ' 2 
      sin  r0 : classical electron radius
d 2      '  
Nishina-Klein formula

 Integration over all angles gives the total cross-section .

 For energies either much larger or much smaller than the electron mass, a
simple and compact expression for the total cross-section is obtained.
8 2
  r0   mec2
3

2 
2 m c 2  1 
  r0  e
ln     mec2
   mec  2
2
 Incident
direction

Polar plot for differential scattering cross section for different incident energies
We notice that photon energies below the mass of the electron, the
Compton cross section is independent of energy, and for photon energies
above the electron mass, the cross section decreases as (energy)-1.

The Nishina-Klein formula only applies to scattering of gamma rays from free
electrons.

If the photon energy is much larger than the binding energy of electrons in
atoms, the effects due to this binding are small (essentially free electron).

 If the gamma energy is small, there is a large probability that the recoil
electron remains bound in the atom after the collision. The atom as a whole
takes up the energy and the momentum transferred to the electron. This
means that all the atomic electrons are involved in taking away the energy.
This is called the coherent Compton scattering or Rayleigh scattering.
Pair production:

 If the energy of the photon is at

least 2mec2, it can produce
electron-positron pair when
passing through the matter.

This reaction is not possible in

the empty space. The energy and
momentum cannot be conserved
in this process.
Consider the reaction:
photon electron + positron.

 In the centre of mass frame, total linear momentum is zero. This means the
photon linear momentum is zero, which is not possible.

However, the reaction happens in the strong electric field of the nucleus
(inside the medium) i.e. in the presence of third body. The nucleus can take
up the linear momentum.
The cross section for pair production, in the high-energy limit

7 2
 183 
  4 r0 Z nucl . ( Z nucl .  1)ln  
9 3 Z
 nucl . 

 In the range 1-100 keV, the interaction is dominated by the photoelectric

effect. The cross section strongly depends on the charge of the nucleus.

In the range 100 keV-1 MeV, Compton scattering dominants.

Above 1 MeV, the pair creation process dominates the cross section.

 There is peak corresponding to Giant dipole resonance (g.d.r.)

Some kind of coherent vibration of nucleons

 nucl : momentum transfer to nucleus

 e : momentum transfer to electrons
Electon-photon shower:

A high energy photon in matter converts into an electron-positron pair

which then emit energetic Bremsstrahlung photons. These, in turn, will
convert into further e+, e- pairs and so on.

The result is a cascade or shower of photons, electrons and positrons. This

continues until the energy of the pair-produced electrons and positrons drops
below the critical energy. At this point, the e+- e- pairs will preferentially lose
their energy via atomic collisions rather then Bremsstrahlung emission, thus
halting the cascade.
 Interaction of particles in matter due to the strong force

 Proton or neutron: size  10-13 cm.

 Cross-section for the collision on another proton or a neutron  4x10-26 cm2.

 A nuclear diameter is A1/3 times that of a proton.

 Geometrical cross section  A2/3 times that of a proton

  4x10-26 A2/3 cm2.

The mean free path for proton in material with atomic no. A
1 A1/3 1 A1/3 2 N 
   35 g / cm N   A 
N  N A  4  1026   A 

Here, , NA=6.02x1023
The above “mean free path” is called “hadronic interaction length”.
This simplistic argument cannot be correct.

The quantum mechanical arguments should be incorporated.

A wave is associated with every particle. The wavelength is given by =h/p.

If the wavelength is small compared to the size of the nucleus, the simplistic
conclusion is a fair approximation. At energies above  1 GeV, the particles
are referred to as “high energy particles”.

 A proton with kinetic energy 10 MeV has a momentum cp  137 MeV, the
de’Broglie wavelength associated with it  10x10-15 m. This is comparable or
larger than the size of the nucleus, the quantum mechanics is important.
In addition to the quantum mechanical effect, at low energy the
electrostatic repulsion between the positive proton and the positive charge of
the nucleus will prevent the proton and the nucleus from approaching each
other for a nuclear interaction to occur.

This electrostatic repulsion strongly suppresses nuclear interactions at

energies below a few 100 keV.

At high energy, all hadrons undergo nuclear interaction.

Mean free path  10-100 cm in solids.

In such a collision, secondary hadrons are produced.

At a few GeV of energy, only a handful of secondary hadrons are produced,
and this number increases slowly with energy.
 Interaction of neutrons

 A neutron will penetrate in matter until it undergoes a strong interaction

with a nucleus.

 No charge, therefore it is not subjected to Coulomb interaction with the

electrons and nuclei in matter.

 Interaction is via strong force.

 Neutrons must come within  10-13 cm of the nucleus before anything can
happen. Therefore, these reactions are much rarer in comparison to charged
particle interaction.

 Since normal matter is mainly empty space, therefore neutron is observed

to be a very penetrating particle.
The following process may occur:

1) Elastic scattering A(n, n)A. This is the principal mechanism of energy loss
for neutrons in the MeV region.

2) Inelastic scattering, e.g. A(n, n’)A*, A(n, 2n)B, etc.

3) The same nucleus is either left in an excited state or a different nucleus
is formed which may later decay by gamma-ray or some other form of
radioactive emission. In order for the inelastic reaction to occur, the
neutron must have sufficient energy to excite the nucleus, usually of the
order of 1 MeV or more. Below this energy threshold, only elastic
scattering may occur.

4) Radioactive neutron capture

n + (Z, A)  + (Z, A+1)
The cross section goes approximately as  1/v, where v is the velocity of
the neutron. Absorption is most likely at low energies. Depending on the
element, there may be resonance peaks superimposed upon this 1/v
dependence. At these energies, the probability of neutron capture is
enhanced.
4) There are other nuclear reactions, such as (n, p), (n, d), (n,), (n, t) and
(n,p) etc in which the neutron is captured and charged particles are emitted.
These generally occur in the eV to keV region. Like the radiative capture
reaction, the cross section falls as 1/v. Resonance may also occur depending
on the element.

5) Fission, i.e. (n, f). Again this is most likely at thermal energies.

6) At very high energy > 100 MeV, hadron shower is produced.

Classification of neutrons:

i. High energy neutron (energy above 100 MeV),

ii. Fast neutrons, a few ten’s of MeV and a few hundred keV,

iii. Apithermal (energy between 100 keV and 0.1 eV),

iv. Thermal (thermal agitation energy E kT = 1/40 eV). Here k: Boltzman

constant.

v. Even lower energy (milli or micro eV), (cold or ultra-cold)

tot. = elastic + inelastic + capture +…

As a fast neutron enters the matter, it will scatter back and forth on the
nuclei, both elastically and inelastically, losing energy until it comes into
thermal equilibrium with the surrounding atoms. At this point, it will diffuse
through matter until it is finally captured by a nucleus or enters into some
other type of nuclear reaction, e.g. fission. These may be resonance also.

The dependence of cross section as v-1 favors the survival of the neutron
down to thermal velocities.

Elastic scattering is the principle mechanism of energy loss for fast neutrons.
Slow down of the neutrons by
suitable material is called moderation.

Lighter the mass of the nucleus,

more energy will be transferred. This
implies that the slowing down is most
efficient when protons or light nuclei
are used. This explains the use of
hydrogenous materials such as water
or paraffin (CH2) in connection with
neutron moderators and shielding.
Resonance:
113Cd

Cross section
113Cd(n, ) 113Cd*

Find the excited state energy of 114Cd.

Resonance occurs when the energy of
the incident neutron is just right for
the nucleus 114Cd to get excited to
one of the excited state.

0.17 eV En
 Classical and semi-classical understanding of cross section

: 1+ 2
i. 1 : Elastic or inelastic collision governed by the R1
electromagnetic force. R
When they interact the distance between their
centers r > R , R= R1+R2. R2

i. 2 : Elastic or inelastic collision governed by the

short range nuclear force.

When r ≤ R.
 b

 For uncharged particles, the geometric cross section for the nuclei to
collide is  = R2.

 The collision cross section is b2, where b is the impact parameter.

Z1 Z 2 e 2
B
(4 0 ) R
 Initial K.E, E= E’ +B, E’: K.E. at a distance R, B: Coulomb energy.
Conservation of angular momentum: L=pb = p’R
p:linear momentum at far away (initial)
p’: linear momentum at a distance R
2 2
E '  p'   b 
   
E  p   R
2
 L   l ( l  1) 2  l 2 [l >> 1, k = p/h]
    2
 2
p
  ( hk ) k
'
2 E   B E >B
   R     R2  1  
 E  E
EM
In general, E should be replaced by ECM 
(M  m)
For uncharged particles, B=0
These equations represent an upper limit to the total reaction cross section,
since it is assumed that there is a 100% chance of a reaction occurring if
r ≤ R.
 In general, there may be many different outcomes as a result of
interactions that may take place during the collision and each has its own
cross section proportional to its probability.

 = 0 when B = E
In reality, the cross section remains finite when E < B.
Quantum Mechanical effect:

 Classical picture is good enough when de Broglie wavelength  is small

compared with the interaction radius R. When  is comparable with or
greater than R, quantum effects become important.

l = (2l+1)2
Semi-classical picture:

 The interaction region, as seen by an approaching

projectile is divided into a set of ring shaped
zones concentric with the head-on collision point.

 The zones are labeled by the orbital angular


momentum quantum no. l.

 The inner most zone (l=0) corresponds to particles 2

with impact parameter less than .

 The next is between  and 2 and so on.

 The impact parameter for the lth zone range from
l  to (l+1).
In this way, a plane wave representing a parallel beam, can be split into a
set of partial waves, or l waves, each associated with a particular zone and
partial-wave cross-section
 l  (2l  1) 2

This is an upper limit. Quantum Mechanically, l can take only integer values.
Classification of heavy ion collisions

partial cross section vs. angular momentum