Electron interaction cross sections in liquid water below 100 eV
In plain words
Most of the damage is done by very slow electrons, but how those electrons scatter in liquid water is poorly measured. Simulations therefore rest on guesses in exactly the range that matters.
Precise statement
Determine elastic, electronic excitation, ionization and dissociative electron attachment cross sections for electrons of 1 to 100 eV in liquid water, to about 10 percent, including the condensed-phase dielectric response and phase effects relative to water vapour. An answer is a consistent cross-section set reproducing measured electron ranges, thermalization distances and radiolysis yields.
What would settle it
Experiments on liquid-water microjets or amorphous ice combined with dielectric-response calculations, cross-checked by measured sub-excitation electron thermalization.
Status in the literature
Unverified note
Track-structure codes still differ by factors of order two in sub-100 eV channels as of 2024.