Yes, photons can indeed cause particle radiation through a process known as pair production. Pair production occurs when a photon interacts with the electromagnetic field near a nucleus or an atomic electron, converting its energy into the mass of a particle-antiparticle pair.
According to Einstein's famous equation E=mc², energy can be converted into mass. In pair production, a photon with sufficient energy can transform into a particle-antiparticle pair, typically an electron and a positron (the antiparticle of the electron). This process requires the presence of a nucleus or an atomic electron to conserve momentum and energy.
The pair production process is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics and follows the principles of conservation of energy and momentum. The minimum energy required for a photon to undergo pair production is twice the rest mass energy of the particle being created (E = 2mc²). Since the rest mass of an electron is approximately 0.511 MeV, pair production typically occurs when the photon energy exceeds 1.022 MeV.
Pair production plays a significant role in high-energy physics and astrophysics. It is observed in particle accelerators, where high-energy photons collide with atomic nuclei or other high-Z materials, generating particle-antiparticle pairs. It also occurs naturally in cosmic ray interactions with atoms in the Earth's atmosphere and in extreme astrophysical environments such as near black holes and pulsars.
So, in summary, photons can give rise to particle radiation through the process of pair production, where the energy of the photon is converted into the mass of particle-antiparticle pairs.