Measured and calculated absorptance of tracks of fast heavy ions in Ilford G5 nuclear emulsion

A modified form of the delta-ray theory of track formation developed by Katz and co-workers was used to calculate the absorptance of tracks of fast heavy ions in Ilford G5 nuclear emulsion. The theoretical data was compared with results of different photometrical investigations reported in the literature. In most cases the theoretical predictions are found to be in good agreement with experiments. This suggests that the theory can be used in the planning and execution of future experiments, i.e. to optimize the geometry of the photometer and to obtain an absolute charge calibration of the detector. It is shown that the basic photometrical properties of an emulsion stack can be described by a single quantity which can be determined from measurements. Knowing this quantity it is possible to predict the response of the emulsion stack for different types of photometers. The practical limits of the use of the modified theory at high and low levels of energy dose are discussed.