Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2022) 137: 761
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02977-0

Regular Article

The differential scattering parameters of different types of materials in Compton energy region for nuclear applications

¹ Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, 16310, Bursa, Turkey
² Department of Electricity and Energy, Technical Sciences Vocational College, AtaturkUniversity, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey

^a m.buyukyildiz@gmail.com, mehmet.buyukyildiz@btu.edu.tr

Received: 13 April 2022
Accepted: 17 June 2022
Published online: 1 July 2022

Abstract

Linear attenuation coefficient, mass attenuation coefficient, differential scattering cross sections, effective atomic number (Z_eff), effective electron density are the parameters used to determine interaction of X-/gamma rays with any material. These parameters depend on photon energy and chemical composition of the studied material. The scattering process is a convenient method for material characterization as it contains less doses than transmission. In the present study, a theoretical estimation based on the scattering of radiation was used to calculate total molecular mass differential scattering coefficients (TMMDSC) of different types of materials for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co radioisotopes covering Compton energy region and for varying scattering angles. For this aim, differential Compton and Rayleigh scattering cross sections (based on Klein-Nishina and Thomson formula) were used for different momentum transfer values. Using the data obtained, practical fit equations were determined to calculate Klein-Nishina and Thomson cross sections for studied momentum transfer range. Using these equations TMMDSC of any material can be easily estimated. Furthermore, Z_effs of the selected materials were studied in the same momentum transfer range based on Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio for the first time. Values of Z_eff, which is one of the most important parameter to distinguish or identify multi-element materials, was compared to those of mean atomic numbers and it was found that the relative differences can reach up to 76.54%.