Abstract
Radiation metrology is crucial in space, for instance in monitoring the conditions on-board space vehicles. The energy released in matter by ionizing radiation is due to the atomic and molecular ionization processes, which have been investigated for several decades from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view. Electronic excitation and ionization cross-section are of particular interest in radiation physics, because of their role in the radiation–matter interaction process. Recently, experimental findings have shown that the interplay with a laser field can strongly modify the electronic interaction probabilities and emission spectra. These phenomena are still not completely understood from a theoretical point of view, and the available empirical data concern a few, simple atomic species. We represent a possible dosimetric effect of the interaction with laser light, inferring from experiments the characteristics of laser-assisted cross-sections. Using a Monte-Carlo calculation for simulating the micro-dosimetric aspects of the irradiation of a simple geometry, we show the need of new experimental data and more detailed theoretical approaches to these phenomena in complex molecular systems.
Highlights
Electron-impact ionization dynamics of atoms and molecules play a crucial role in several scientific and practical application fields, ranging from spectroscopy and radiation metrology to radiation chemistry and the biological effect of ionizing radiations
A well-established approach to obtain a detailed description of the interaction probabilities, and a comprehensive characterization of the electron impact ionization dynamics, is given by the so-called (e,2e) studies, in which the two outgoing electrons are detected in coincidence [1,2]
The authors of [3] were unable to reproduce theoretically the empirical data they measured. Their description of the electron-impact ionization dynamics was based on the so-called First-Born Approximation (FBA), which does not take into account the important correlation effect, as for instance, the collective and single particle degree of freedom excited in the target wave function and the absorption of a photon in the ionization process
Summary
Electron-impact ionization dynamics of atoms and molecules play a crucial role in several scientific and practical application fields, ranging from spectroscopy and radiation metrology to radiation chemistry and the biological effect of ionizing radiations. The authors of [3] were unable to reproduce theoretically the empirical data they measured Their description of the electron-impact ionization dynamics was based on the so-called First-Born Approximation (FBA), which does not take into account the important correlation effect, as for instance, the collective and single particle degree of freedom excited in the target wave function (dubbed dressed wavefunction) and the absorption (or emission) of a photon in the ionization process. In this paper, starting from an educated guess on the effect of a non-resonant laser field on the electron-impact ionization cross-section in water, some consideration will be made to its potential dosimetric effect, using a simulated irradiation of a simple cylindrical phantom.
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