Abstract
The behavior of radiation and matter as a function of energy governs the degradation of astrophysical information along the path and the characteristics of the detectors. This chapter firstly presents the mechanisms of the energy loss of charged particles in matter: ionization, bremsstrahlung, Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation, nuclear reactions; in addition, the effect of multiple scattering will be summarized. Then the chapter discusses the mechanisms of photon interactions: photoelectric effect, Compton effect, pair production. The characteristic scales of electromagnetic (radiation length) and nuclear (interaction length) processes are discussed. The discussed effects are the foundation for the detectors discussed in the following. The nature of fundamental fluctuations related to the detection processes will be outlined. The interactions of radiation and particles are presented without formally deriving the relative cross sections, but rather elaborating on the critical factors leading to the detector construction.
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