PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF CHARGED PARTICLE TRACK STRUCTURE

Authors

R. H. Ritchie, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
R. N. Hamm, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
J. E. Turner, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
H. A. Wright, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
J. C. Ashley, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
G. J. Banks, Physical Review Letters

Date of this Version

1989

Comments

Published in Nucl. Tracks Radiat. Meas., Vol. 16, No. 2/3, pp. 141-155, 1989

Abstract

A plasmon generated by a swift charged particle constitutes a coherent excitation about the particle track. We discuss the physics of the plasmon in condensed matter and its effects on electron transport in liquid water. Criteria for the existence of the plasmon III a given substance, Its characteristics when generated by a swift charged particle, its representation in impact parameter space, and its decay into localized excitations are described. We describe how plasmon excitation and decay are implemented in our Monte Carlo code, OREC, and how track structure calculations are affected by this mode.