Brehmsstrahlung is produced when incident electrons are decelerated in the Coulomb field of the nucleus.

• A. Decelerated in the Coulomb field of the nucleus
• B. Accelerated by magnetic fields
• C. Undergo beta decay
• D. Absorbed without emission

Answer: (A)

Bremsstrahlung comes from a fast charged particle, like an electron, being slowed down as it passes near the electric field of a nucleus. The Coulomb field of the nucleus causes the electron’s path to bend and its speed to decrease; the lost kinetic energy is emitted as a photon. This produces a continuous X-ray spectrum commonly seen when electrons strike a target material in X-ray/gamma applications.

That’s why the statement about deceleration in the nucleus’s Coulomb field is the correct description. The other ideas don’t fit: radiation from acceleration by magnetic fields would be a different mechanism (e.g., synchrotron-like radiation) and isn’t the characteristic Bremsstrahlung in a typical XRF target; beta decay is a nuclear decay process that emits particles, not a broad X-ray continuum; absorption without emission would imply no photon is produced.