2nd Semester,

MSc (Radiological Physics), 2021

RP2.1 : Radiation Physics:

Interaction of Radiation with Matter
Lesson-8

Kalyanee Boruah
28 July, 2021
 Syllabus
Interaction of charged particles with matter :

Range energy relation-

Continuous slowing down approximation
(CSDA)-

Straight head approximation and detour
factors-

transmission and depth dependence methods
for determination of particle penetration-

empirical relations between range and energy-
 Review : The Bethe-Bloch Formula
The correct quantum-mechanical calculation was first
performed by Bethe, Bloch and other authors. In the
calculation the energy transfer is parametrized in terms
of momentum transfer rather than the impact
parameter. This, of course, is more realistic since the
momentum transfer is a measurable quantity whereas
the impact parameter is not. The formula obtained is,

(1)

Equation (13) is commonly known as the Bethe-Bloch

formula. In practice.
 Review
The total energy loss of electrons and positrons, is
composed of two parts:
. . . . . . (2)

For electrons and positrons, the Bethe-Bloch formula

must be modified. Because,
1. For small mass, the assumption that the incident
particle remains undeflected during the collision
process is not valid.
2. The collisions between identical particles require that
the calculation must take into account their
indistinguishability.
3. The maximum allowable energy transfer is W max = Te/2
where Te is the kinetic energy of the incident electron.
 The Bethe-Bloch formula then becomes,

. . (3)

where  is the kinetic energy of particle in units of m ec2,

 Critical energy

Fig.4 : Radiation loss vs. collision loss for electrons in copper.

For comparison, the dE/dx for protons is also shown
 CSDA Range

When a particle traverses a medium, the particle's path is

usually not straight due to scattering. The CSDA range is a
very close approximation to the average path length traveled
by a charged particle as it slows down to rest, calculated in
the continuous-slowing-down approximation (CSDA).
In this approximation, the rate of energy loss at every point
along the track is assumed to be equal to the total stopping
power. Energy-loss fluctuations are neglected.
The CSDA range is obtained by integrating the reciprocal of
the total stopping power with respect to energy.
The mean stopping power for high-energy muons (or
other heavy charged particles) in a material can be
described by,
. . . . . . (4)

where E is the total energy, a(E) is the electronic

stopping power, and b(E) is due to radiative processes
—bremsstrahlung, pair production, and photonuclear
interactions: . . . . . . (5)

a(E) and b(E) are slowly varying functions of E at the

high energies where radiative contributions are
important. The “continuous-slowing-down-
approximation” (CSDA) range is obtained by
integrating the reciprocal of equation (4).
 . . . . . . (6)

where E0 is sufficiently small so that the result is insensitive

to its exact value. At very high energies, where a and b
are (essentially) constant,
. . . . . . (7)

where E μc = a/b is the muon critical energy. The muon

critical energy can be defined more precisely as the energy
at which electronic losses and radiative losses are equal, in
analogy to one of the ways of defining the critical energy for
electrons. It is obtained by finding Eμc such that,
. . . . . . (8)

The CSDA range is of limited usefulness, particularly at

higher energies, because of the effect of fluctuations.
 Projected range

The projected range is the distance between the point where the
particle enters the stopping medium and the point where the
particle is absorbed (or comes to rest), projected onto the
original direction of travel (straight head approximation).
It is the average value of the depth to which a charged particle
will penetrate in the course of slowing down to rest. This depth
is measured along the initial direction of the particle.
Experimentally it can be measured by using increasing absorber
thickness and plotting the count rate versus absorber thickness.
The CSDA range is always higher than projected range.
 Detour factor

The detour factor is defined as the ratio of the average

penetration depth or the projected range to the continuous
slowing-down approximation [CSDA] range.
One measure of multiple scattering is provided by the “detour
factor”. As a result of multiple scattering, the trajectory of a
particle is wiggly rather than straight, and the detour factor is
always smaller than unity.
This factor is 0.98 in the worst case (uranium at our lowest
energy), and increases rapidly toward unity as the energy is
increased or if the atomic weight of the absorber is
decreased.