Photon energy-transfer coefficient

Total mean energy transferred

𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝑖
ҧ ℎ𝜈, 𝑍 =
𝑓𝑡𝑟 ҧ
= ෍ 𝑤𝑖 𝑓𝑖 = ෍ 𝑤𝑖
ℎ𝜈 ℎ𝜈
𝑖 𝑖

𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 = ෍ 𝑤𝑖 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝑖
𝑖

• At very low and very high energy

the total mean energy
transferred equals the photon
energy for all absorbers.
• In the intermediate photon
energy range 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 is smaller than
ℎ𝜈 by up to an order of
magnitude for low Z absorbers.
Photon energy-transfer coefficient
Considering the total mean energy
ҧ ℎ𝜈, 𝑍 (or the
transfer fraction 𝑓𝑡𝑟
total mean energy transferred), the
linear energy transfer coefficient
and the mass energy transfer
coefficient are defined as:

𝐸ത𝑡𝑟
𝜇𝑡𝑟 =𝜇∙ ҧ
= 𝜇 ∙ 𝑓𝑡𝑟
ℎ𝜈
𝜇𝑡𝑟 𝜇 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝜇
= ∙ ҧ
= ∙ 𝑓𝑡𝑟
𝜌 𝜌 ℎ𝜈 𝜌

The mass energy transfer coefficient

equals the mass energy attenuation
coefficient at low and high photon
ҧ ≈ 1). At intermediate
energy (𝑓𝑡𝑟
𝜇 𝜇
photon energies 𝜌𝑡𝑟 < 𝜌
(up to a factor of 10)
 Photon energy-absorption coefficient
The energy transferred by photons to charged particles may be partially lost by
these particles as they travel though the absorber. The main processes are:

• Bremsstrahlung production by electrons and positrons. This is the predominant

radiation-emitting interaction experienced by secondary charged particles;
• In-flight annihilation processes experienced by positrons (less important than
bremsstrahlung but generally not negligible);
• Production of fluorescence radiation as consequence of ionization and excitation of
atoms of the absorbing medium by electrons and positrons set in motion by photons
(usually negligible)
As consequence, only a fraction of the energy transferred to charged particles by
photon interactions are absorbed locally.

It is possible to define the fraction of secondary charged particles energy that in lost in
radiative interactions: 𝑔ҧ (mean radiation fraction).

𝐸ത𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 − 𝐸ത𝑎𝑏 𝐸ത𝑎𝑏

𝑔ҧ = = =1−
𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 𝑔ҧ𝐵 : bremsstrahlung
𝑔ҧ𝐴 : in-flight annihilation
𝑔ҧ = 𝑔ҧ𝐵 + 𝑔ҧ𝐴 + 𝑔ҧ𝑓 ≅ 𝑔ҧ𝐵 + 𝑔ҧ𝐴 𝑔ҧ𝑓 : fluorescence
 Photon energy-absorption coefficient

• For a given photon energy the

mean radiation fraction
increases with increasing the
absorber atomic number;

• For a given atomic number the

mean radiation fraction
increases with increasing the
photon energy;

• Threshold energy for the in-

flight annihilation fraction;

• The bremsstrahlung fraction

predominates at all energies
and exceeds the in-flight
annihilation fraction by at least
one order of magnitude.
 Photon energy-absorption coefficient

Total mean energy absorbed:

𝐸ത𝑎𝑏 = 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 (1 − 𝑔)ҧ

• For all absorbers, 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 and

𝐸ത𝑎𝑏 are equal at relatively
low photon energies where
the radiation fraction 𝑔ҧ is
negligible

• For all absorbers, 𝐸ത𝑡𝑟 < 𝐸ത𝑎𝑏

at high photon energy (lower
for high Z absorbers)
 Photon energy-absorption coefficient
Total mean energy absorption fraction:

ҧ = 𝑓𝑡𝑟
𝑓𝑎𝑏 ҧ (1 − 𝑔)ҧ

• For relatively low photon

energy (i.e. <1 MeV for low Z
absorber and <200 keV for
high Z absorber) where 𝑔ҧ ≈ 0
and 1 − 𝑔ҧ ≈ 1 the mean
energy transfer fraction and
the mean energy absorption
fraction are equal;

• At higher photon energy the

difference between the two
fractions increases with
increasing the photon energy
 Photon energy-absorption coefficient
Linear energy absorption coefficient:
𝐸ത𝑎𝑏
𝜇𝑒𝑛 = 𝜇 ∙ ҧ
= 𝜇 ∙ 𝑓𝑎𝑏
ℎ𝜈
𝜇𝑒𝑛 = 𝜇𝑡𝑟 ∙ 1 − 𝑔ҧ

Mass energy absorption coefficient:

𝜇𝑒𝑛 𝜇 𝐸ത𝑎𝑏 𝜇
= ∙ ҧ
= ∙ 𝑓𝑎𝑏
𝜌 𝜌 ℎ𝜈 𝜌
𝜇𝑒𝑛 𝜇𝑡𝑟
= ∙ 1 − 𝑔ҧ
𝜌 𝜌

• Same considerations done for

the transfer/absorption
energy fractions
• At higher photon energy the
difference between the two
coefficients increases with
increasing the photon energy
 Coefficients in compounds and mixtures

The photon interaction coefficients for a compounds or mixture of elements

are obtained as weighted average of the coefficients of the individual
elements:

𝜇 = ෍ 𝑤𝑗 ∙ 𝜇𝑗 𝜇𝑡𝑟 = ෍ 𝑤𝑗 ∙ 𝜇𝑡𝑟 𝑗 𝜇𝑒𝑛 = ෍ 𝑤𝑗 ∙ 𝜇𝑒𝑛 𝑗

𝑗 𝑗 𝑗

Where 𝑤𝑗 is the proportion by weight of the jth constituent element

Example: mass attenuation coefficient of water at 10 MeV

H2O; atomic masses: 𝑚𝑂 = 15.9994 𝑢; 𝑚𝐻 = 1.00794 𝑢;
molecular mass: 𝑚𝐻2𝑂 = 18.0153 𝑢

𝜇 2 ∙ 1.00794 𝜇 1 ∙ 15.9994 𝜇
= ∙ + ∙ =
𝜌 𝐻2𝑂
18.0153 𝜌 𝐻
18.0153 𝜌 𝑂

𝑐𝑚2 𝑐𝑚2 𝑐𝑚2

=0.1119 ∙ 0.0325 + 0.8881 ∙ 0.0209 = 0.0222
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔
Photon interaction coefficient – NIST databases

[Link]
Photon interaction coefficient – NIST databases

Elemental
media

……

……
Photon interaction coefficient – NIST databases

Compounds and
mixtures
Charged particle interactions with matter
For all charged particles, the nature of the interactions and their influence on the
penetration characteristics (e.g. range, path…) are similar and mostly governed by
Coulomb forces acting between the charges involved.

However, because of the large difference in their masses affects significantly the
scattering and the magnitude of the energy transfer in collisions, light particles (electrons
and positrons) must be considered separately from heavier charged particles (protons,
alpha, ions…).

The interaction properties, the range of penetration and the modalities of energy transfer
are completely different from those of photons. This is clear for instance by comparing
the macroscopic total cross section for electrons and photons, and their mean free path
(MFP), defined as follow.

Microscopic cross section (unit area per atom/unit area per electron): 𝜎𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝐸 = ෍ 𝜎𝑖 𝐸
𝑖
𝑁𝐴 𝜇
Macroscopic cross section (unit area per mass): Σ𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝐸 = 𝜎𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝐸 ∙ Σ𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝐸 =
𝐴 𝜌
Mean free path (mean path length between
two consecutive interactions): 𝑀𝐹𝑃 𝐸 = 1ൗΣ
𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝐸
Charged particle interactions with matter
For a given energy, the macroscopic cross lead
section for an electron is several order of
magnitude higher than a photon. carbon
Above 1 MeV, electrons have a MFP
between collisions of the order of 10-5-10-6 lead
cm, whereas it is tens of centimetres for a
photon in the same medium. carbon

A charged particle interacts with nearly

every atoms along its path, losing energy
each time in atomic excitation ad
carbon
ionization. The vast majority of inelastic
interactions transfer only a minute lead
fraction of the kinetic energy of the
incident particle → continuous slowing
carbon
down approximation (CSDA).
lead
The main changes in the direction of the
incident particle is due to elastic interactions
with the charged atomic nucleus.
 Charged particle interactions with matter

Four main types of interaction of charged particles with an atom, depending on

the size of the classical impact parameter b of the charged particle trajectory
compared to the classical atomic radius a of the absorber atom with which the
charged particle interacts
Charged particle interactions with matter
Inelastic hard collisions (close
collisions): impact parameter of the
order of atomic dimensions. The
particle interacts mainly with single
atomic electron, usually from a
inner shell. This electron is ejected
with a high kinetic energy and can
dissipate it along a separate track,
i.e. distinct from that of the primary
charged particle →  ray, or knock-
on electrons.

The number of hard collisions experienced by a charged particle moving in an

absorber is generally small; however, the energy transfers associated with hard
collisions are relatively large, so that the particle loses roughly 50% of its kinetic
energy through hard collisions.

Further emissions: characteristic x rays and/or Auger electrons

 Charged particle interactions with matter

Inelastic soft collisions (distant

collisions): impact parameter
much larger that the atomic
radius. The particle interacts
with the atom as a whole,
distorting it, exciting and often
ionizing it by ejecting a
valence-shell electron.

Large impact parameters are more probable than near hits on individual atoms
→ soft collisions are the most numerous type of charged particle interactions and
account for roughly half of the energy transferred to the absorbing medium,
even if the in each interaction a very small amount of energy (a few tens of eV) is
transferred.
 Charged particle interactions with matter

When the impact parameter b of

a charged particle is much
smaller than the radius a of the
absorber atom, the charged
particle interacts mainly with the
nucleus and undergoes either
elastic or inelastic scattering
possibly accompanied with a
change in direction of motion.

The vast majority of these interactions are elastic so that the particle is scattered
by the nucleus but loses only an insignificant amount of its kinetic energy .
However, a small percentage of the scattering interactions are inelastic and may
result in significant energy loss for the charged particle accompanied by emission
of x-ray photons (bremsstrahlung).
 Charged particle interactions with matter: stopping power

In each interaction the charged particle’s path may be altered and it may lose
some of its kinetic energy that will be transferred to the medium (collision loss) or
to photons (radiation loss).
The energy loss of the charged particle propagating through an absorber depends
on the characteristics of the particle as well as the absorber.
Each of these possible interactions between the charged particle and orbital
electrons or the nucleus of the absorber atoms is characterized by a specific cross
section (probability) σ for the particular interaction.

The rate of energy loss per unit of path length by a charged particle in an
𝑑𝐸
absorbing medium is the linear stopping power 𝑆 = − .
𝑑𝑥
Dividing the linear stopping power by the density ρ of the absorber results in the
𝑆 1 𝑑𝐸
mass stopping power =−
𝜌 𝜌 𝑑𝑥
 Charged particle interactions with matter: stopping power
With regard to charged particles interactions, different types of stopping power must be
considered:
1) Electronic stopping power (also known as collision SP) 𝑆𝑒𝑙 (𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑙 ): it is related to the
interactions with the orbital electrons of the absorber. It is further subdivided into two
𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑
components: soft and hard (related to soft collisions and hard collisions) 𝑆𝑒𝑙 , 𝑆𝑒𝑙

2) Radiative stopping power 𝑆𝑟𝑎𝑑 : it is related to the inelastic interactions with the nucleus
of the absorber leading to bremsstrahlung. It can be significant for light charged particles; for
heavy charged particles the radiation loss is negligible in comparison with the collision loss

3) Nuclear stopping power 𝑆𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙 : it is an additional minor term related to the elastic
interactions with the nucleus of the absorber. The transfer of energy to the recoil atoms is
proportional to the ratio of the mass of the incident particle to the mass of the target atom
→ unimportant for light charged particles, and only minor effect for heavy charged particles.

The total stopping power is then obtained by summing the various components:
𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑
𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑆𝑟𝑎𝑑 +𝑆𝑒𝑙 + 𝑆𝑒𝑙 +𝑆𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙