A benchmark for Monte Carlo simulation in gamma-ray spectrometry

M C Lépy; C Thiam; M Anagnostakis; R Galea; D Gurau; S Hurtado; K Karfopoulos; J Liang; H Liu; A Luca; I Mitsios; C Potiriadis; M I Savva; T T Thanh; V Thomas; R W Townson; T Vasilopoulou; M Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108850

A benchmark for Monte Carlo simulation in gamma-ray spectrometry

Appl Radiat Isot. 2019 Dec:154:108850. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108850. Epub 2019 Aug 19.

Authors

M C Lépy¹, C Thiam², M Anagnostakis³, R Galea⁴, D Gurau⁵, S Hurtado⁶, K Karfopoulos⁷, J Liang⁸, H Liu⁸, A Luca⁵, I Mitsios³, C Potiriadis⁷, M I Savva⁹, T T Thanh¹⁰, V Thomas¹¹, R W Townson⁴, T Vasilopoulou⁹, M Zhang⁸

Affiliations

¹ CEA, LIST, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel (LNE-LNHB), Bât. 602 PC 111, CEA-Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France. Electronic address: marie-christine.lepy@cea.fr.
² CEA, LIST, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel (LNE-LNHB), Bât. 602 PC 111, CEA-Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
³ Nuclear Engineering Department, National Technical University of Athens, 15870 Athens, Greece.
⁴ National Research Council of Canada - 1200 Montreal Road - Ottawa ON, K1A0R6, Canada.
⁵ Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), 30 Reactorului Street, PO Box MG-6, Magurele, Ilfov County, RO, 077125, Romania.
⁶ Universidad de Sevilla, Servicio de Radioisotopos, CITIUS, Avda. Reina Mercedes 4, SP-41012, Sevilla, Spain.
⁷ Greek Atomic Energy Commission EEAE- Patriarchou Grigorio & Neapoleos - P.O. Box 60092- P.C. 15341, Agia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.
⁸ Ionizing Radiation Devision National Institute of Metrology, No.18, Bei San Huan Dong Lu, Chao Yang District, Beijing, China.
⁹ INRASTES, NCSR "DEMOKRITOS" - Terma Patriarchou Grigoriou & Neapoleos - 153 10 Ag. Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.
¹⁰ University of Science, VNU-HCM, Faculty of Physics & Engineering Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics-Nuclear Engineering, 227, Nguyen Van Cu Street, Ward 4, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
¹¹ CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297, Arpajon, France.

PMID: 31476556
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108850

Abstract

Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is widely used in gamma-ray spectrometry, however, its implementation is not always easy and can provide erroneous results. The present action provides a benchmark for several MC software for selected cases. The examples are based on simple geometries, two types of germanium detectors and four kinds of sources, to mimic eight typical measurement conditions. The action outputs (input files and efficiency calculation results, including practical recommendations for new users) are made available on a dedicated webpage.

Keywords: EGS-Nrc; Efficiency; GEANT4; GESPECOR; Gamma-ray spectrometry; MCNP; Monte Carlo simulation; PENELOPE.