Interactions of Photons with

Matter Photoelectric Effect

George Starkschall, Ph.D.

Lecture Objectives
Identify and describe the photoelectric
effect
Recall the dependence of the
photoelectric attenuation coefficient
on atomic number and energy

Systematic catalog of interactions

Kinds of
interaction

Effects of
interaction

1. Interaction with atomic

electrons

a. Complete absorption

2. Interaction with nucleons

b. Elastic scattering
(coherent)

3. Interaction with the electric c. Inelastic scattering

field surrounding nuclei or
(incoherent)
electrons
4. Interaction with the meson
field surrounding nucleons

Systematic catalog of interactions

12 possible processes
Only 5 are of significance in
radiological physics

5 interactions
Classical scatter
(1b) Atomic electrons/Elastic scatter

Photoelectric effect
(1a) Atomic electrons/Complete absorption

Compton scatter
(1c) Atomic electrons/Inelastic scatter

Pair production
(3a) Electric field/Complete absorption

Photonuclear disintegration
(2a) Nucleons/Complete absorption

Mass attenuation coefficient

Mass attenuation coefficients for
each process add to obtain total
mass attenuation coefficient
/ = coh/ + / + C/ + /
coh/
/
C/
/

coefficient for classical scatter

coefficient for photoelectric effect
coefficient for Compton scatter
coefficient for pair production

Qualitative description of effect

Photon interacts with atom
Transfers all of its energy h to atom
Ejects orbital electron from atom

Energy of photoelectron
Energy of photoelectron given by
Ee = h - Eb
For soft tissue, Eb approximately 0.5 keV, so most
photon energy transferred to photoelectron

Energy of photoelectron
Recoil energy of target atom nearly 0, so
essentially all kinetic energy goes into
photoelectron

Characteristic x-rays
If inner-shell electron is ejected, filling
vacancy results in emission of
characteristic x-ray

Theoretical treatments
Exact solutions difficult and tedious
Need tools of relativistic quantum
mechanics

Quantitative aspects largely

empirical

Energy dependence
Plot / vs energy on log-log plot
Straight line implies that / (h)-n

Energy dependence
In particular, / falls about 3 orders of magnitude per
order of magnitude of energy, so n approximately
equal to 3

Edges in energy dependence

For Pb, note structure in behavior of attenuation
coefficient vs photon energy near 16 keV and near 90
keV

Edges in energy dependence

Discontinuities near binding energies of various shells
K shell
L shell

88 keV
16 keV

Just below shell binding energy insufficient energy to ionize

electron
Just above shell binding energy sufficient energy to ionize
electron
Attenuation coefficient increases by factor of around 5

Z dependence
Attenuation coefficient much higher for Pb than for
water
3 orders of magnitude change in coefficient for 1 order of
magnitude change in Z (water Z=7.5, Pb Z = 82)

Z dependence
Experimentally / Zn, where n is approximately 3
for high Z materials and closer to 3.8 for low Z
materials

Summary of dependences
Combining proportionalities, we get
/ Z3/(h)3
Photoelectric absorption most
probable at low energies and high Z

Angular dependence
At low energies, photoelectron ejected
near 90 relative to incident photon
Incident photon is electromagnetic wave
Induced motion of electron is in direction of
electric field transverse

At higher energies, photoelectron ejected

in more forward direction
Conservation of momentum

Angular dependence

Conservation of momentum
Whenever h >> Eb, KE h
But, rest mass of electron is finite
Electron momentum > photon
momentum
Need recoil atom to achieve
momentum conservation

Additional radiation
Ejected photoelectron leaves
vacancy behind
Auger electron energy deposited in
immediate vicinity of interaction
Characteristic x-ray energy deposited
near, but not adjacent to interaction

In tissue, characteristic x-ray has

very low energy, so energy deposited
locally

Summary
Photoelectric effect involves bound
electrons
Probability of ejection maximum if photon
has just enough energy to eject electron
from shell
Mass attenuation coefficient varies
inversely as cube of photon energy
Mass attenuation coefficient varies
directly as cube of atomic number

Summary
In tissue, energy transferred is
approximately equal to energy
absorbed, i.e., very little energy
radiated
Characteristic x-ray absorbed locally
No scattered photons