Radiation and Detectors: Introduction to the Physics of Radiation and Detection Devices (Graduate Texts in Physics)

This textbook provides an introduction to radiation, the principles of interaction between radiation and matter, and the exploitation of those principles in the design of modern radiation detectors. Both radiation and detectors are given equal attention and their interplay is carefully laid out with few assumptions made about the prior knowledge of the student. Part I is dedicated to radiation, broadly interpreted in terms of energy and type, starting with an overview of particles and forces, an extended review of common natural and man-made sources of radiation, and an introduction to particle accelerators. Particular attention is paid to real life examples, which place the types of radiation and their energy in context. Dosimetry is presented from a modern, user-led point of view, and relativistic kinematics is introduced to give the basic knowledge needed to handle the more formal aspects of radiation dynamics and interaction. The explanation of the physics principles of interaction between radiation and matter is given significant space to allow a deeper understanding of the various technologies based on those principles. Following an introduction to the ionisation mechanism, detectors are introduced in Part II, grouped according to the physical principle that underpins their functionality, with chapters covering gaseous detectors, semiconductor detectors, the scintillation process and light detectors. The final two chapters describe the phenomenology of showers and the design of calorimeters, and cover additional phenomena including Cherenkov and transition radiation and the detection of neutrinos. An appendix offers the reader a useful review of statistics and probability distributions. The mathematical formalism is kept to a minimum throughout and simple derivations are presented to guide the reasoning and facilitate understanding of the working principles. The book is unique in its wide scope and introductory level, and is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in physics and engineering. The reader will acquire an awareness of how radiation and its exploitation are becoming increasingly relevant in the modern world, with over 140 experimental figures, detector schematics and photographs helping to relate the material to a broader research context. Preface 3 Contents 5 Acronyms 8 --- Radiation 10 1 Particles & Forces 11 1.1 Units of Energy and Mass 11 1.2 Elementary Particles and Antiparticles 13 1.3 Fundamental Forces and the Higgs Boson 16 1.4 Feynman Diagrams 19 1.5 Hadrons 20 1.6 Lepton and Quark Numbers 23 References 26 2 Natural Sources of Radiation 27 2.1 Cosmic Microwave Background 27 2.2 Cosmic Radiation 29 2.3 Solar Radiation 33 2.4 Natural Radioactivity 38 References 43 3 Dosimetry 45 3.1 Flux, Activity and the Radioactive Decay Law 45 3.2 Radiological Units 47 3.3 Radiation Doses in Life and the Environment 52 3.4 Biological Effects of Radiation 54 3.5 Recommended Dose Limits 56 References 60 4 Relativistic Kinematics and Collisions 61 4.1 Motion at Classical and Relativistic Speeds 61 4.2 Mass of a Set of Particles 68 4.3 Particle Formation in Collisions 70 4.4 Compton Scattering 74 4.5 Cross Section 76 References 80 5 Elements of Accelerator Physics 81 5.1 Cockcroft--Walton and Van de Graaff Accelerators 81 5.2 Linear and Radio Frequency Accelerators 84 5.3 Cyclotrons and Betatrons 87 5.4 Synchrotrons and Colliders 89 5.5 Beam Transport 91 5.6 Transverse Focusing 93 5.7 Acceleration and Longitudinal Focusing 97 References 101 --- Interaction Mechanisms & Detectors 103 6 Ionisation & Multiple Scattering 104 6.1 Ionisation: Bohr Classical Derivation 104 6.2 Bethe-Block Formula 107 6.3 Particle Identification Through Energy Loss 110 6.4 Statistical Distribution of Energy Loss and the Range 111 6.5 Bragg Peak 113 6.6 Multiple Scattering 115 References 118 7 Gaseous & Liquid Ionisation Detectors 119 7.1 Principles of Ionisation Detectors 119 7.2 General Characteristics of Ionisation Detectors 122 7.3 Ionisation Processes and Transport 123 7.4 Ionisation Chamber 127 7.5 Proportional Chamber 129 7.6 Multi Wire Proportional Chamber 133 7.7 Multi Strip Gas Chamber and Resistive Plate Chamber 134 7.8 Drift Chamber 135 7.9 Time Projection Chamber 138 7.10 Liquid Ionisation Detectors 139 References 141 8 Semiconductor Detectors 143 8.1 Basic Semiconductor Properties 143 8.2 Doped Semiconductors 148 8.3 p-n Semiconductor Junction 149 8.4 Silicon Detector Configurations 152 8.5 Particle Tracking and Momentum Measurement 155 References 158 9 Scintillation Process & Light Detectors 160 9.1 Scintillation for Radiation Detection 160 9.2 Inorganic Scintillators 162 9.3 Organic Scintillators 165 9.4 Transport and Detection of Light 167 9.5 Bolometers 171 References 174 10 Electromagnetic & Hadronic Showers - Calorimeters 176 10.1 Interaction of Electrons with Matter 176 10.2 Interaction of Photons with Matter 179 10.3 Electromagnetic Showers 181 10.4 Electromagnetic Calorimeters 183 10.5 Hadronic Showers and Calorimeters 187 References 189 11 Cherenkov & Transition Radiation: Detectors for PID & Neutrinos 191 11.1 Cherenkov Radiation 191 11.2 Transition Radiation 194 11.3 Detecting Neutrinos 196 References 200 Statistics & Probability 201 A.1 Sample Space and Probability 201 A.2 Probability Distribution Function 204 A.3 Binomial and Poisson Distributions 205 A.4 Continuous Probability Distribution Functions 206 A.5 Multivariate and Estimators 208 Reference 209 Index 210