Photoelectric absorption and low energy electron absorption

[Taylor_1989]

I have am currently reading Radiation Detection and Measurement, by Gleen F.Knoll, and in chapter 10 page 309.

And have come across something that is causing a bit of confusion, for context the chapter is on gamma ray spectroscopy.

So in the text it say's 'Thus the effect of photoelectric absorption is the liberation of photo electron, which carries off most of the energy gamma ray energy, together with one or more low energy electron corresponding to absorption of the original binding energy of the photo electron'.

In most thing I have every covered on photoelectric it have never talked about the addition of other electrons leaving the atom with the photo electron.

What electron are leaving the atom with the photo electron, which shell do they come from and surely they must be causing some characteristic radiation to take place?

 

[mfb]

I don't have the book but this sounds like a description of the Auger effect. If the high energy electron comes from an inner shell another electron jumps down into the now empty energy level, this release energy - sometimes as radiation, sometimes as another electron that gets kicked out.

 

[Taylor_1989]

I don't have the book but this sounds like a description of the Auger effect. If the high energy electron comes from an inner shell another electron jumps down into the now empty energy level, this release energy - sometimes as radiation, sometimes as another electron that gets kicked out.

Ah okay, so for gamma spectroscopy then, imagining and ideal scintillation detector where nothing escapes the detector then if a gamma photo hits and absorption atom and through photoelectric absorption then majority of the energy goes to photo electrons which then imparts that energy through collisions and the auger electrons give off there energy during the collision. Dose this mean that the auger electron have enough energy to cause a light photon? As in spectroscopy the energy of the gamma photon is proportional to the energy of the pulse being output?

 

[ZapperZ]

You may want to read this document, starting on Pg. 31.

https://www.lanl.gov/orgs/n/n1/panda/00326397.pdf

Zz.

 

[dlgoff]

You may want to read this document, starting on Pg. 31.

https://www.lanl.gov/orgs/n/n1/panda/00326397.pdf

Zz.

Very informative. Thank you sir.