Artificial neural network-based method for discriminating Compton scattering events in high-purity germaniumγ-ray spectrometer

To detect radioactive substances with low activity levels,an anticoincidence detector and a high-purity germanium(HPGe)detector are typically used simultaneously to suppress Compton scattering background,thereby resulting in an extremely low detection limit and improving the measurement accuracy.However,the complex and expensive hardware required does not facilitate the application or promotion of this method.Thus,a method is proposed in this study to discriminate the digital waveform of pulse signals output using an HPGe detector,whereby Compton scattering background is suppressed and a low minimum detectable activity(MDA)is achieved without using an expensive and complex anticoincidence detector and device.The electric-field-strength and energy-deposition distributions of the detector are simulated to determine the relationship between pulse shape and energy-deposition location,as well as the characteristics of energy-deposition distributions for fulland partial-energy deposition events.This relationship is used to develop a pulse-shape-discrimination algorithm based on an artificial neural network for pulse-feature identification.To accurately determine the relationship between the deposited energy of gamma(γ)rays in the detector and the deposition location,we extract four shape parameters from the pulse signals output by the detector.Machine learning is used to input the four shape parameters into the detector.Subsequently,the pulse signals are identified and classified to discriminate between partial-and full-energy deposition events.Some partial-energy deposition events are removed to suppress Compton scattering.The proposed method effectively decreases the MDA of an HPGeγ-energy dispersive spectrometer.Test results show that the Compton suppression factors for energy spectra obtained from measurements on ^(152)Eu,^(137)Cs,and ^(60)Co radioactive sources are 1.13(344 keV),1.11(662 keV),and 1.08(1332 keV),respectively,and that the corresponding MDAs are 1.4%,5.3%,and 21.6%lower,respectively.

High‑accuracy measurement of Compton scattering in germanium for dark matter searches

Compton scattering with bound electrons contributes to a significant atomic effect in low-momentum transfer,yielding background structures in direct light dark matter searches as well as low-energy rare event experiments.We report the measurement of Compton scattering in low-momentum transfer by implementing a 10-g germanium detector bombarded by a^(137)Cs source with a radioactivity of 8.7 mCi and a scatter photon captured by a cylindrical NaI(Tl)detector.A fully relativistic impulse approximation combined with multi-configuration Dirac–Fock wavefunctions was evaluated,and the scattering function of Geant4 software was replaced by our calculation results.Our measurements show that the Livermore model with the modified scattering function in Geant4 is in good agreement with the experimental data.It is also revealed that atomic many-body effects significantly influence Compton scattering for low-momentum transfer(sub-keV energy transfer).

The effect of Compton scattering on gamma-ray spectra of the 2005 January 20 flare

Gamma-ray spectroscopy provides a wealth of information about acceler- ated particles in solar flares, as well as the ambient medium with which these energetic particles interact. The neutron capture line （2.223 MeV）, the strongest in the solar gamma-ray spectrum, forms in the deep atmosphere. The energy of these photons can be reduced via Compton scattering. With the fully relativistic GEANT4 toolkit, we have carried out Monte Carlo simulations of the transport of a neutron capture line in solar flares, and applied them to the flare that occurred on 2005 January 20 （X7.1/2B）, one of the most powerful gamma-ray flares observed by RHESSI during the 23rd solar cycle. By comparing the fitting results of different models with and without Compton scattering of the neutron capture line, we find that when including the Compton scat- tering for the neutron capture line, the observed gamma-ray spectrum can be repro- duced by a population of accelerated particles with a very hard spectrum （s ≤ 2.3）. The Compton effect of a 2.223 MeV line on the spectra is therefore proven to be sig- nificant, which influences the time evolution of the neutron capture line flux as well. The study also suggests that the mean vertical depth for neutron capture in hydrogen for this event is about 8 g cm-2.

A Compton scattering image reconstruction algorithm based on total variation minimization

Compton scattering imaging is a novel radiation imaging method using scattered photons.Its main characteristics are detectors that do not have to be on the opposite side of the source,so avoiding the rotation process.The reconstruction problem of Compton scattering imaging is the inverse problem to solve electron densities from nonlinear equations,which is ill-posed.This means the solution exhibits instability and sensitivity to noise or erroneous measurements.Using the theory for reconstruction of sparse images,a reconstruction algorithm based on total variation minimization is proposed.The reconstruction problem is described as an optimization problem with nonlinear data-consistency constraint.The simulated results show that the proposed algorithm could reduce reconstruction error and improve image quality,especially when there are not enough measurements.

High-brightness photo-injector with standing-wave buncher-based ballistic bunching scheme for inverse Compton scattering light source

We report our recent progress in the design and simulation of a high-brightness S-band photo-injector with a ballistic bunching scheme aimed at driving an inverse Compton scattering(ICS)X-ray source.By adding a short standing-wave buncher between the RF gun and first booster in a conventional S-band photo-injector,electron bunches with a 500 pC charge can be compressed to the sub-picosecond level with very limited input RF power and an unchanged basic layout of the photo-injector.Beam dynamics analysis indicates that fine tuning of the focusing strength of the gun and linac solenoid can well balance additional focusing provided by the standing wave buncher and generate a well-compensated transverse emittance.Thorough bunching dynamics simulations with different operating conditions of the buncher show that a buncher with more cells and a moderate gradient is suitable for simultaneously obtaining a short bunch duration and low emittance.In a typical case of a 9-cell buncher with a 38 MV/m gradient,an ultrashort bunch duration of 0.5 ps(corresponding to a compression ratio of>5)and a low emittance of<1 mm mrad can be readily obtained for a 500 pC electron pulse.This feasible ballistic bunching scheme will facilitate the implementation of an ultrashort pulse mode inverse Compton scattering X-ray source on most existing S-band photo-injectors.

The polarization effect of a laser in multiphoton Compton scattering

The multiphoton Compton scattering in a high-intensity laser beam is studied by using the laser-dressed quantum electrodynamics （QED） method, which is a non-perturbative theory for the interaction between a plane electromagnetic field and a charged particle. In order to analyze in the real experimental condition, a Lorentz transformation for the cross section of this process is derived between the laboratory frame and the initial rest frame of electrons. The energy of the scattered photon is analyzed, as well as the cross sections for different laser intensities and polarizations and different electron velocities. The angular distribution of the emitted photon is investigated in a special velocity of the electron, in which for a fixed number of absorbed photons, the electron energy will not change after the scattering in the lab frame. We obtain the conclusion that higher laser intensifies suppress few-laser-photon absorption and enhance more-laser-photon absorption. A comparison between different polarizations is also made, and we find that the linearly polarized laser is more suitable to generate nonlinear Compton scattering.

Free Electrons Compton Scattering Can Produce an Illusion of Expanding Universe

The high-precision measurements of the Hubble parameter make the theory of cosmic expansion more and more confusing, which bolsters the idea that new physics may be needed to explain the mismatch. Astronomical observations show that the Universe is expanding exponentially. Free electron Compton scattering (FEC) can produce the illusion of exponentially expanding Universe: FEC causes photons to redshift exponentially, and the photon beam exponentially expands along the propagation direction. Is this a coincidence? The redshift factor of the FEC is z = (1+z);the beam length stretch factor (time dilation of the supernova curve) of the FEC is z = (1+z);the expansion factor of the beam volume of the FEC is z = (1+z)3, and the FEC effect does not blur the image of distant galaxies. The reason for rejecting the “tired light” does not hold in FEC.

Relationship between Scattered Photon Counts and Concentrations of Some Saline Solutions in Compton Scattering

Compton scattering saline solution was researched. Firstly according to the Compton scattering theory the linear relationship between the concentration and the scattered photon counts was obtained. And then it was proved by Compton scattering experiments for some solutions. According to those experiments, it was found that the slope was decreased when the atomic number of the cation was increased for alkali metal chloride solutions and alkaline-earth metal chloride solutions. Based on those relationships, a new method was promoted with which to measure the concentration of saline solution untouched the measured solution.

High energy and high brightness laser compton backscattering gamma-ray source at IHEP

Based on the LINAC of BEPCII, a high-polarized, high bightness, energy-tunable, monoenergetic laser compton backscattering (LCS)gamma-ray source is under construction at IHEP. The gamma-ray energy range is from 1 MeV to 111 MeV. It is a powerful and hopeful researchplatform to reveal the underlying physics of the nuclear, the basic particles and the vacuum or to check the exist basic physical models, quantumelectrodynamic (QED) theories. In the platform, a 1.064 mm Nd:YAG laser system and a 10.6 mm CO_(2) laser system are employed. All the triggersignals to the laser system and the electron control system are from the only reference clock at the very beginning of the LINAC to make sure thetemporal synchronization. Two optical transition radiation (OTR) targets and two charged-couple devices (CCD) are used to monitor and to alignthe electron beam and the laser beam. With the LCS gamma-ray source, it is proposed to experimentally check the gamma-ray calibrations, thephoton-nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics and some basic QED phenomena.

Laser Compton scattering for a linearly polarized laser

Laser Compton light sources are potential candidates for the next generation of high-brightness X or γ-ray sources. When increasing the laser power to obtain intense X-ray laser, nonlinear Compton scattering happens. Nonlinear Compton scattering of linearly polarized laser beam is discussed in this paper. A complete transition probability formula is introduced and the polarization properties of final photons are discussed for different conditions.

Influence of electronic structure on Compton scattering through comparing Cu-Ni alloys with Cu-Ni powder mixtures

The application fields of Compton scattering have been further broadened through the studies of theories and experiments as well as the electronic structure of the scatters. The relationship between the contents of binary alloys （also binary powder mixtures） and the number of Compton scattered photons has been thoroughly examined. The linear expression of the relationship has been obtained approximately according to the Compton scattering theory. And the relationship has been validated well through the Compton scattering experiments with the scatters of Cu-Ni binary alloys or Cu- Ni binary powder mixtures. Furthermore, it is found that the slope of Cu-Ni powder mixture series is steeper than that of Cu-Ni alloy series, and through the pseudopotential plane wave theory of DFT the microscopic principles of Compton scattering of Cu-Ni alloy and Cu-Ni powder mixture series have been discussed and compared with each other. The results show that the electronic structure is the main reason for the difference of the linear slopes, and the line slope of Cu-Ni powder mixtures series is steeper than that of Cu-Ni alloy series.

Backward Compton scattering and QED with noncommutative plane in the strong uniform magnetic field

In the strong uniform magnetic field, the noncommutative plane （NCP） caused by the lowest Landau level （LLL） effect, and QED with NCP （QED-NCP） are studied. Being similar to the condensed matter theory of quantum Hall effect, an effective filling factor f（B） is introduced to characterize the possibility that the electrons stay on the LLL. The analytic and numerical results of the differential cross section for the process of backward Compton scattering in accelerator with unpolarized or polarized initial photons are calculated. The existing data of BL38B2 in Spring-8 have been analyzed roughly and compared with the numerical predictions primitively. We propose a precise measurement of the differential cross sections of backward Compton scattering in a strong perpendicular magnetic field, which may reveal the effects of NCP.

Deeply virtual compton scattering at HERMES

Generalized Parton Distributions （GPDs） provide a way to access total angular momenta of partons and give a multidimensional picture of the nucleon structure.Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering （DVCS） is the most direct exclusive process to study GPDs.Different azimuthal cross-section asymmetries with respect to beam helicity,beam charge,and target polarization have been measured in the HERMES experiment.A recoil detector was installed at HERMES to directly detect the recoil proton.

Compton profiles of NiO and TiO_2 obtained from first principles GWA spectral function

In this work,we first use momentum density studies to understand strongly correlated electron behavior,which is typically seen in transition metal oxides.We observe that correlated electron behavior as seen in bulk NiO is due to the Fermi break located in the middle of overlapping spectral functions obtained from a GW（G is Green’s function and W is the screened Coulomb interaction） approximation（GWA） calculation while in the case of TiO2 we can see that the origin of the constant momentum distribution in lower momenta is due to a pile up of spectra before the Fermi energy.These observations are then used to compare our calculated Compton profiles with previous experimental studies of Fukamachi and Limandri.Our calculations for NiO are observed to follow the same trend as the experimental profile but it is seen to have a wide difference in the case of TiO2 before the Fermi break.The ground state momentum densities differ significantly from the quasiparticle momentum density,thus stressing the importance of the quasiparticle wave function as the input for the study of charge density and the electron localization function.Finally we perform a calculation of the quasiparticle renormalization function,giving a quantitative description of the discontinuity of the GWA momentum density.

Simulation of a soft-gamma-ray polarimeter on board a microsatellite

Gamma-ray polarimetry is a new and prospective tool for studying extremely high-energy celestial objects and is of great significance for the field of astrophysics.With the rapid development of microsatellite technology,the advantages of space exploration have become increasingly apparent.Therefore,we simulated a soft-gamma-ray polarimeter for a microsatellite based on the Compton scattering principle.We performed detailed Monte Carlo simulations using monoenergetic gamma-ray linear-polarization sources and Crab-like sources in the energy range of 0.1-10 MeV considering the orbital background.The polarimeter exhibited excellent polarization detection performance.The modulation factor was 0.80±0.01,and the polarization angles were accurate within an error of 0.2°at 200 keV for on-axis incidence.For the Crab-like sources for on-axis incidence,the polarization degrees were consistent with the set values within the error tolerance,the modulation factor was 0.76±0.01,and the minimum detectable polarization reached 2.4%at 3σfor an observation time of10^(6) s.Additionally,the polarimeter exhibited recoil electron tracking,imaging,and powerful background suppression in a large field of view(FoV;∼2πsr).The proposed polarimeter meets the requirements of a space soft-gamma-ray polarization detector and has promising research prospects.

Commissioning of laser electron gamma beamline SLEGS at SSRF

The Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source(SLEGS)is a powerful gamma source that provides MeV gamma-ray beams for nuclear science and technology.It was developed as one of the 16 beamline stations in the Phase Ⅱ Project of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.The slant-scattering mode is for the first time systematically employed in laser Compton scattering at SLEGS to produce energy-tunable quasi-monoenergetic gamma-ray beams.The SLEGS officially completed its commissioning from July to December 2021.Gamma rays in the energy range of 0.25-21.7 MeV with a flux of 2.1×10^(4)-1.2×10^(7) photons/s and an energy spread of 2-15% were produced during the test.This paper reports the results from commissioning the SLEGS beamline.

Total ionizing radiation-induced read bit-errors in toggle magnetoresistive random-access memory devices

The 1-Mb and 4-Mb commercial toggle magnetoresistive random-access memories（MRAMs） with 0.13 μm and 0.18-μm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor（CMOS） process respectively and different magnetic tunneling junctions（MTJs） are irradiated with a Cobalt-60 gamma source. The electrical functions of devices during the irradiation and the room temperature annealing behavior are measured. Electrical failures are observed until the dose accumulates to 120-krad（Si） in 4-Mb MRAM while the 1-Mb MRAM keeps normal. Thus, the 0.13-μm process circuit exhibits better radiation tolerance than the 0.18-μm process circuit. However, a small quantity of read bit-errors randomly occurs only in 1-Mb MRAM during the irradiation while their electrical function is normal. It indicates that the store states of MTJ may be influenced by gamma radiation, although the electrical transport and magnetic properties are inherently immune to the radiation. We propose that the magnetic Compton scattering in the interaction of gamma ray with magnetic free layer may be the origin of the read bit-errors. Our results are useful for MRAM toward space application.

Characteristics of X/γ-ray radiations by intense laser interactions with high-Z solids: The role of bremsstrahlung and radiation reactions

In this work, characteristics of X/γ-ray radiations by intense laser interactions with high-Z solids are investigated by means of a newlydeveloped particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation code. The PIC code takes advantage of the recently developed ionization and collision dynamicsmodels, which make it possible to model different types of materials based on their intrinsic atomic properties. Within the simulations, bothbremsstrahlung and nonlinear Compton scatterings have been included. Different target materials and laser intensities are considered forstudying the parameter-dependent features of X/γ-ray radiations. The relative strength and angular distributions of X/γ ray productions frombremsstrahlung and nonlinear Compton scatterings are compared to each other. The threshold under which the nonlinear Compton scatteringsbecome dominant over bremsstrahlung is also outlined.

Ultrabright γ-ray emission from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-critical-density plasma

An efficient scheme for generating ultrabright γ-rays from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-criticaldensity plasma is studied by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation including quantum electrodynamic effects.We investigate the effects of target shape on γ-ray generation efficiency using three configurations of the solid foils attached behind the near-critical-density plasma:a flat foil without a channel(target 1),a flat foil with a channel(target 2),and a convex foil with a channel(target 3).When an intense laser propagates in a near-critical-density plasma,a large number of electrons are trapped and accelerated to GeV energy,and emit γ-rays via nonlinear betatron oscillation in the first stage.In the second stage,the accelerated electrons collide with the laser pulse reflected from the foil and emit high-energy,high-density γ-rays via nonlinear Compton scattering.The simulation results show that compared with the other two targets,target 3 affords better focusing of the laser field and electrons,which decreases the divergence angle of g-photons.Consequently,denser and brighter γ-rays are emitted when target 3 is used.Specifically,a dense γ-ray pulse with a peak brightness of 4.6×10^(26) photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 100 MeV)and 1.8×1023 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW(at 2 GeV)are obtained at a laser intensity of 8.5×10^(22) W/cm2 when the plasma density is equal to the critical plasma density nc.In addition,for target 3,the effects of plasma channel length,foil curvature radius,laser polarization,and laser intensity on the γ-ray emission are discussed,and optimal values based on a series of simulations are proposed.

A study on compatibility of experimental effective atomic numbers with those predicted by ZXCOM

In this study, effective atomic numbers(Zeff) of materials determined at different experimental conditions by measuring the elastic-to-inelastic γ-ray scattering ratios are compared to ZXCOM predictions. It also presents the experimental data obtained via the transmission technique The agreement and disagreement between ZXCOM and experimental values are investigated. The theoretical basics of determining Zeffby scattering mode are outlined. The study shows that choosing appropriate experimental conditions can provide a good compatibility between the experimental results and theoretical ZXCOM