Chapter 5

Interactions of Ionizing Radiation

Introduction
When xrays or gamma rays pass through a medium, the interaction between
the photons and matter can take place with the result that energy is
transferred to the medium.
First, it requires an ejection of an electron from the atom.
The electrons transfer their energy by producing ionization and excitation of
the atoms along the path.
If energy is deposited to cells - > destruction of cells
However, most of the absorbed energy is converted to heat with no biologic
effect

5.1 Ionization
• The process by which a neutral atom acquires a positive or a negative
charge
• Removal of orbital electron leaves atom with a positive charge resulting in
an ion pair
stripped electron = negative ion
residual atom = positive ion
(sometimes electron acquired by neutral atom and the negative charged
atom becomes negative ion)

5.1 Ionization
Photon --> high speed electron --> ionization
Photon is not the ionization, it is the electron it produces that causes
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 ionization

•Ionization needs energy to occur (e- is the energy)

•Electron ionizes and bremsstrahlung can occur
•Dose is result of ionization and excitation (absorbed in medium)
Result = generation of heat

5.1 Ionization
1. ionization – removal of electron
2. excitation – vibration of electron but not total removal
3. delta ray – electron produces its own ionization
(electron moves along track and occasionally has interaction in which the
ejected electron receives enough energy to produce secondary track)
4. bremsstrahlung – interacts with nucleus

5.1 Ionization
Charged particles
Directly ionizing radiation – electrons, protons, α particles
A. energy lost along path; ejected electron produces secondary track (delta
ray)
B. energy not sufficient enough to eject electron but used to raise electron to
higher energy level = excitation
Uncharged particles
Indirectly ionizing radiation – neutrons and photons
- liberate directly ionizing particles from matter when interacts with matter
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 5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation
If photon interacts with medium --> absorbed or scattered

dN = -µNdx dN = # of photons
N = # of incident photons
dx = thickness of absorber
Intensity µ = attenuation coefficient
dI = -µIdx (- means photons decrease as absorber increases)

** reduction in number of photons is proportional to the number of incident

photons and the thickness of the absorber

5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation

HVL – thickness of absorber required to attenuate intensity of beam to ½ its
original value

Exponential attenuation applies to mono-energetic beams

X-ray generated beams no longer exponential
In general – for heterogeneous beam – first HVL less than rest
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 5.4 Coefficients
A. Attenuation coefficient
linear attenuation coefficient (µ) depends on the density (ρ) of material
µ/ρ = mass attenuation coefficient cm²/g
Attenuation coefficient means the fraction of photons removed per unit
thickness
Photons that interact will transfer part of energy and result in part or all
energy being absorbed
B. Energy transfer coefficient
photon interacts with electron in material; a part or all of its energy is
converted into kinetic energy of electrons
Energy transfer coefficient – fraction of photon energy transferred into
kinetic energy of charged particles per unit thickness of absorber

C. Energy Absorption Coefficient

product of energy transfer coefficient and 1 – g
(g = fraction of the energy of secondary charged particles that is lost to
bremsstrahlung in the material)
The secondary electrons set into motion by photons may travel an appreciable
distance from the site they were produced to the end of their tracks, where
they have used all of their kinetic energy.

Energy absorption coefficient – evaluation of energy absorbed in tissues

= predicts biological effects of radiation

5.5 Interaction of Photons with matter

Attenuation of a photon beam by an absorbing material is caused by 5 major
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 types of interactions:
1. Photodisintegration - (reaction between photon and nucleus; >10 MeV
photon energies)
2. Coherent scattering – rayleigh scattering
3. Photoelectric effect
4. Compton effect
5. Pair Production

5.6 Coherent Scattering

A.K.A. classical or rayleigh scattering
Electromagnetic wave passes near the electron and sets it into oscillation
Oscillating electron reradiates the energy at same frequency as incident
electromagnetic wave
No energy transfer
A. only effect is at small angles
B. probable at higher atomic # materials and photons of lower energies
C. Only an academic interest in radiation therapy
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 Diagram illustrating the process of coherent scattering. The scattered photon has the same wavelength as the incident
photon. No energy is transferred.

5.7 Photoelectric effect

Photon interacts with atom and ejects one of the orbital electrons from
the atom
Entire energy transferred
Takes place in K, L, M, or N shells
Emission of characteristic x-ray and possible auger electron (this is a
mono-energetic electron produced by absorption of characteristic x-rays
internally in atom)
Probability depends on photon energy
Photon energy = binding energy
Higher probability if photon energy is slightly higher than binding
energy
Not a direct hit (photon absorbed)
PE ↑ E ↑
PE ↑ Z ↓ PE attenuation depends strongly on Z of absorber
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 Illustration of the photoelectric effect.
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 Mass photoelectric attenuation coefficient (t/r) plotted against photon energy. Curves for water (Zeff = 7.42) and lead (Z =
82).

(Data from Grodstein GW. X-ray Attenuation Coefficients from 10 keV to 100 MeV. Pub. No. 583. Washington, DC: U.S.
Bureau of Standards; 1957.)

Photoelectric Effect
5.8 Compton Effect
Very important because they occur very frequently in tissue for x and γ
rays used in diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, and radiation
therapy.
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 Photon interacts with atomic electron as though it was a "free" electron
Free – binding energy of the electron is much less than the energy
of the bombarding photon
Electron received some energy from photon; emitted photon has reduced
energy
Scattered photon will travel tens of cm's before interacting again, but the
electron interacts continuously with neighboring atomic electrons and
comes to a halt after mm's to cm's

Diagram illustrating the Compton effect.

Compton Effect

5.8 Compton Effect

Special Cases of Compton Effect
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 A. Direct hit – photon makes direct hit with electron:
Electron forward 0° (maximum energy)
Photon backward 180° (minimum energy)
B. Grazing hit – photon makes grazing hit with electron:
No energy transfer
C. 90° Photon scatter – photon right angle; this determines electron angle
1. interaction of low energy photon – photon less than rest energy of
electron = scatter photon ~ same as incident photon
2. interaction of high energy photon – most energy to electron, scatter
photon has little energy
3. compton scatter at angle = 90° and 180° - to design radiation protection
barriers in treatment rooms; will never be > .511 MeV
right angles independent of incident energy – max value of .511 MeV
backward scatter independent of incident energy – max value of .255
MeV

Independent of: Z (because it involves a free electron so it doesn't matter

which atom "owns" the electron)
Depends on: # of electrons/gram – mass attenuation coefficient
# of electrons/cm³ - linear attenuation coefficient
Energy: Compton ↓ E ↑--imagine that at higher energy there is
less opportunity for hitting the electron as the incoming particle
"whizzes" by.

5.9 Pair Production

If energy of photon is greater than 1.02 MeV, photon may interact with
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 matter through pair production
Photon and nucleus interact within electromagnetic field
Gives up all energy while creating a pair of positive and negative
electrons
Because rest mass energy of electron is .511 MeV, a minimum energy of
1.02 MeV is required to create a pair of electrons. Total kinetic energy
available for the pair is (hν – 1.02)MeV.
PP = energy converted to mass = E=mc²

Diagram illustrating the pair production process.

5.9 Pair Production

A. Annihilation Radiation

positron --> free e- --> 2 photons (each .51 MeV ejected in opposite
directions)
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 Diagram illustrating the production of annihilation radiation.

* Most important in imaging (PET, SPECT)

5.9 Pair Production

B. PP varies with energy and atomic number
probability of PP increases with ↑ atomic # and E (the only interaction
whose likelihood increases with photon energy)
Attenuation coefficient for PP varies with Z² per atom, Z per electron, and
Z per gram
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 Plot of pair atomic attenuation coefficient divided by the square of the atomic number as a function of photon energy for
carbon (Z = 6) and lead (Z = 82).

The mass attenuation coefficient can be obtained by multiplying ap/Z2 obtained from the graph, first by Z2 and then by the
number of atoms per gram of the absorber.

(Data from Hubbell JH. Proton Cross Sections Attenuation Coefficients and Energy Absorption Coefficients from 10 keV to
100 GeV. Pub. No. 29. Washington, DC: U.S. National Bureau of Standards; 1969.)

5.11 Interactions of charged particles

Photons interact with matter
Photoelectric, compton, pair production
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 Charged particles interact by ionization and excitation
electrons, protons, α particles, and nuclei

Collision between charged particle and orbital electron

= ionization and excitation
Collision between charged particle and nucleus
= loss of energy or bremsstrahlung

Stopping power (S) – rate of kinetic energy loss per unit length of the particle

5.11 Interactions of charged particles

A.Heavy charged particles
As particle slows down, rate of energy loss ↑, absorbed dose in medium ↑
Because of their mass, they travel in a relatively straight line in the
material, which gives a much narrower penumbra than for photons or
electrons
Peaking of dose near the end of the particle range = bragg peak
Protons and heavy charged particles have advantage in radiotherapy
because dose to the target is delivered with minimal dose to surrounding
tissues
Finite range in the medium
B. Electrons
smaller mass than heavy charged particles
Greater multiple scattering and changes in direction
No bragg peak because slowing down process smears out this peak
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 Lose energy through ionization and excitation
Finite range in the medium

5.12 Interactions of neutrons

indirectly ionizing
Free unbound neutrons are unstable (radioactive) and disintegrate by
beta emission.
2 processes:
a. recoiling protons from hydrogen and recoiling heavy nuclei from
other elements
b. nuclear disintegrations

Lead – good absorber for neutrons but poor shielding material

Hydrogenous materials – wax and polyethylene – most efficient absorbers

5.13 Comparative beam characteristics

Physical advantages of radiation therapy beam are derived from the depth
dose distributions and scatter characteristics
1.neutron - comparable to Co-60
2.heavy charged particles – bragg peak – flat dose distribution at peak with
rapid fall off after
3.electrons - show constant dose region up to ½ the particle range and then
sharp falloff beyond that point
4.proton – sharp cutoff in dose beyond the range
Depth dose distribution for various heavy particle beams with modulated
Bragg peak at a depth of 10 cm and normalized at the peak center.
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 Comparison of depth dose distribution for protons and electrons.
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 Key Points for Chapter 5:
Charged particles are directly ionizing radiation. Uncharged particles
such as neutrons and photons are indirectly ionizing—they liberate
directly ionizing particles that are responsible for producing ionization and
excitation of atom
Photon beam attenuation is characterized by attenuation coefficient µ.
For a narrow monoenergetic beam, the attenuation is given by: I(x) = I0e-
mx.

HVL and attenuation coefficient are related by: HVL = 0.693/µ.

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 µ, µtr, and µen are parameters that respectively characterize photon
beam attenuation, energy transfer, and energy absorption as the beam
traverses a medium.
Photon beams interact with matter through five major processes:
coherent scattering, photoelectric effect, Compton effect, pair production,
and photodisintegration.
Coherent scattering involves no net loss of energy. This type of
interaction is probable with low-energy photons and high-Z materials—
not important for radiation therapy beams interacting with body tissues,
which have low Z.
Significant for less than 10keV photons
Photoelectric effect involves complete absorption of photon energy by the
atom and transferring that energy to an orbital electron, which is ejected.
The process results in the emission of photoelectron, characteristic x-rays
(fluorescent radiation), and Auger electrons.

Photoelectric probability varies as 1/E3 and Z3.

Photoelectric effect in water (or soft tissue) is predominant for
photon energies of 10 keV to 1MeV (average energies of x-ray
beams generated at 30–75 kVp).
Compton effect involves photon interaction with a "free electron" (loosely
bound electron—binding energy much less than the incident photon
energy).
Compton interaction probability in water increases with photon
energy from 10 to 150 keV. It then decreases with further increase in
energy. However, it is the predominant mode of interaction in water
for 30 keV to 24 MeV. That includes all x-ray beams used in
radiation therapy.
Compton probability is almost independent of Z. It depends on
electron density (number of electrons per cm3).
Maximum energy of a photon scattered at 90 degrees is 0.511 MeV,
and at 180 degrees it is 0.255 MeV.
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 Pair production involves a high-energy photon interaction with the
electromagnetic field of a nucleus. Photon energy is all used up in
creating a pair of electron (e-) and positron (e+) and providing it with
kinetic energy.
The threshold energy for pair production is 1.02 MeV—just enough
to create the electron–positron pair.
Pair production probability increases slowly with energy beyond 1.02
MeV. It increases from about 6% at 4 MeV to 20% at 7 MeV
(average energies of 12–21 MV x-ray beams).

Pair production coefficient varies approximately as Z2 per atom, Z

per electron, and Z per gram.
The reverse of pair production process is the electron–positron
annihilation, giving rise to two photons each of 0.511 MeV ejected in
opposite direction.
Photodisintegration involves a photon creating a nuclear reaction
(described in section 2.8F). In most cases it results in the emission of a
neutron. The process is only important at high photon energies and is
responsible for neutron contamination of therapy beams of energy
greater than 10 MV.
Particle interactions
Charged particles interact primarily by ionization and excitation.
Radiative collisions (bremsstrahlung) are possible but more likely for
electrons than heavier charged particles.
All charged particles exhibit Bragg peak near the end of their range.
Bragg peak is not observed in electron beams because of excessive
scattering and smearing of the Bragg peaks.
Neutrons interact by ejecting recoil protons or producing nuclear
disintegrations.
Lead is an efficient absorber of x-rays but not of neutrons. The most
efficient absorber of neutrons is a hydrogenous material such as
water, paraffin wax, and polyethylene.
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