Attenuation studies near K-absorption edges using

Compton scattered ²⁴¹Am gamma rays

K K ABDULLAH¹, N RAMACHANDRAN², K KARUNAKARAN NAIR³,

B R S BABU⁴, ANTONY JOSEPH⁴, RAJIVE THOMAS⁴ and K M VARIER^4,*

¹Department of Physics, Farook College, Calicut 673 632, India

²Kingstree Sr. High, 616 Martin Luther King Avenue, Kingstree, South Carolina, USA

³Department of Physics, M.E.S. College, Ponnani 679 586, India

⁴Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut 673 635, India

^*Corresponding author. E-mail: kmvarier@gmail.com

Abstract. We have carried out photon attenuation measurements at

several energies in

the range from 49.38 keV to 57.96 keV around the K-absorption edges

of the rare earth elements Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy and Er using $59.54$

keV gamma rays from $^{241}$Am source after Compton scattering from

an aluminium target. Pellets of oxides of the rare earth elements

were chosen as mixture absorbers in these investigations. A narrow

beam good geometry set-up was used for the attenuation measurements.

The scattered gamma rays were detected by an HPGe detector. The

results are consistent with theoretical values derived from the XCOM

package.

Keywords. Photon interaction; $^{241}$Am; gamma ray attenuation;

Compton scattering; absorption edge; rare earth elements.

PACS Nos 32.80.-t; 32.90.+a