A Monte Carlo Treatment of the Decay of 125 I

Abstract

A Monte Carlo method for calculating the electron spectrum following the decay of 125I is presented. This permits the evaluation of the distribution of the number of electrons and total electron energy per decay rather than average values. It is shown that the numbers of electrons emitted depend upon the environment of the atom; different numbers are emitted depending on whether the atom is isolated or in the condensed phase. The average number of electrons emitted per decay for the condensed phase is 21.2, while for the isolated atom only 13.2 are emitted. Transition probabilities for the M and N shells are incorporated into the model so that a more complete description of the average electron spectrum becomes possible.