Simulation of the Passage of Fast Electrons and the Early Stage of Water Radiolysis by the Monte Carlo Method

A numerical computer simulation of the processes of the interaction of electrons with liquid water and vapor was performed, beginning with the absorption of the energy of ionizing radiation and including the chemical changes in the medium. The specific features of the liquid phase compared with the gaseous phase were taken into account. Among them are the decrease of the ionization potential and collective excitations of the plasmon type. The mass stopping powers and ranges of electrons in liquid water and vapor were calculated. Within the frames of the stochastic model the kinetics of water radiolysis in the picosecond range of radiolysis was calculated by the Monte Carlo method. The mechanism of water radiolysis was found with the electron-ion recombination and the reactions of quasi-free and solvated electrons taken into account.