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A study of PIXE continuum polarization properties
Author(s) -
Potiriadis C.,
Karydas A. G.,
Zarkadas Ch.,
Clouvas A.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.829
Subject(s) - bremsstrahlung , projectile , atomic physics , anisotropy , atomic number , polarization (electrochemistry) , electron , proton , physics , cathode ray , radiation , nuclear physics , chemistry , optics , quantum mechanics
The continuum radiation emitted after the proton bombardment of a solid or gaseous target can be described mainly by three mechanisms: the secondary electron bremsstrahlung (SEB), the quasi‐free electron bremsstrahlung (QFEB) and the atomic bremsstrahlung (AB). Each background mechanism exhibits a different relative contribution in the PIXE continuum according to the projectile energy, the x‐ray region and the atomic number of the target element. The anisotropy of the SEB and AB continuum, peaking at 90° with respect to the beam axis, has been confirmed and studied experimentally in the past. In the present work, the degree of polarization of the PIXE continuum was determined experimentally in the energy region 3–5 keV for a solid, thick carbon target and for 2.5 and 3 MeV proton energies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.