Gama Işını Zırhlaması için Düşük-Z ve Yüksek-Z Malzemelerde Foton Etkileşim Kesitlerinin Baskınlık Grafikleriyle Sistematik Karşılaştırılması

Year 2026, Volume: 11 Issue: 1 , 69 - 92 , 31.03.2026

İlker Can Çelik

https://doi.org/10.46578/humder.1906695

https://izlik.org/JA37BJ86SP

Abstract

Bu çalışma, gama ışını zırhlama performansının farklı enerji bölgelerinde daha anlaşılır şekilde yorumlanmasını sağlamak amacıyla, düşük-Z’den yüksek-Z’ye kadar uzanan temsili malzemeler için foton etkileşim tesir kesitlerinin sistematik ve karşılaştırmalı bir analizini sunmaktadır. XCOM gibi veri tabanlarında kapsamlı tesir kesiti verileri mevcut olmasına rağmen, mevcut çalışmaların büyük çoğunluğu tekil malzemelere veya tablosal verilere odaklanmakta ve geniş enerji aralıklarında foton etkileşim mekanizmalarının göreli baskınlığına dair sınırlı bilgi sunmaktadır.

Bu çalışmada, fotoelektrik soğurma, Compton saçılması ve çift oluşumu dahil olmak üzere toplam ve kısmi zayıflatma katsayıları, seçilen malzemeler (B, Al, Si, Cu, W, Pb, su ve hava) için 1 keV–20 MeV enerji aralığında XCOM veri tabanından elde edilmiştir. Bu malzemeler rastgele seçilmemiş olup; nükleer, tıbbi, havacılık ve endüstriyel uygulamalarda yaygın olarak kullanılan zırhlama ve yapısal malzemeleri temsil etmektedir. Bu sayede fiziksel olarak anlamlı ve uygulamaya yönelik karşılaştırmalar yapılabilmiştir. Farklı etkileşim mekanizmalarının göreli katkılarını karşılaştırmak amacıyla baskınlık temelli bir görselleştirme yaklaşımı geliştirilmiştir.

Elde edilen sonuçlar, foton enerjisi ve atom numarasına bağlı olarak etkileşim rejimleri arasında sistematik geçişler olduğunu göstermektedir. Düşük-Z malzemelerde geniş bir enerji aralığında Compton saçılması baskınken, yüksek-Z malzemelerde düşük enerjilerde fotoelektrik etki, yüksek enerjilerde ise çift oluşumu baskın hale gelmektedir.

Bu çalışma yeni veri üretmekten ziyade, mevcut tesir kesiti verilerinin karşılaştırmalı ve görsel olarak yorumlanmasını sağlayan bir çerçeve sunmaktadır. Bu yaklaşım, foton-madde etkileşimlerinin daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlamakta ve özellikle çok katmanlı veya kompozit zırhlama sistemlerinde malzeme seçimine yönelik ön değerlendirmeleri desteklemektedir.

Keywords

Compton Saçılması , Çift Oluşumu , gama ışını zayıflatma , zırhlama baskınlık görselleştirmesi , XCOM veritabanı , fotoelektrik etki , radaysyon zırhlaması

Systematic Comparison of Photon Interaction Cross-Sections from Low-Z to High-Z Materials Using Dominance Graphs for Gamma-Ray Shielding

https://izlik.org/JA37BJ86SP

Abstract

This study presents a systematic and comparative analysis of photon interaction cross-sections for a representative set of materials spanning low-Z to high-Z regimes, aiming to improve the interpretability of gamma-ray shielding performance across different energy domains. Although extensive cross-sectional data are available in databases such as XCOM, most studies focus on individual materials or tabulated values, offering limited insight into the relative dominance of photon interaction mechanisms over wide energy ranges.

In this work, total and partial attenuation coefficients—including photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, and pair production—were obtained from the XCOM database for selected materials (B, Al, Si, Cu, W, Pb, water, and air) over the energy range of 1 keV to 20 MeV. These materials were not selected arbitrarily; they represent commonly used shielding and structural materials across nuclear, medical, aerospace, and industrial applications, enabling physically meaningful and application-relevant comparisons. A dominance-based visualization approach was developed to normalize and compare the relative contributions of photon interaction mechanisms across different materials.

The results reveal systematic transitions between interaction regimes as a function of photon energy and atomic number. Low-Z materials are primarily governed by Compton scattering over a broad energy range, whereas high-Z materials exhibit dominant photoelectric absorption at low energies and increasing pair production at higher energies.

Rather than generating new data, this study provides a comparative and visually interpretable framework for analyzing existing cross-sectional datasets. The approach facilitates a clearer understanding of photon–matter interactions and supports the preliminary selection of materials for gamma-ray shielding applications, particularly in multilayer or composite systems.

Keywords

Gamma-ray attenuation , photoelectric effect , Compton scattering , pair production , shielding dominance visualization , XCOM database , raddiation shielding

References

• ICRP, About the ICRP, [Online Resources]. (2025). https://www.icrp.org/page.asp?id=5
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Data Services, [Online Resources]. (2025). https://www-nds.iaea.org
• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Materials Regulated by the NRC, [Online Resources]. (2025). https://www.nrc.gov/materials.html
• Mkhaiber, A. F., & Dheyaa, A. (2018, May). Experimental study of some shielding parameters for composite shields. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1003 (1), p. 012109. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1003/1/012109
• Levet, A., Kavaz, E., & Özdemir, Y. (2020). An experimental study on the investigation of nuclear radiation shielding characteristics in iron-boron alloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 819, 152946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.152946
• Mansy, M. S., Lasheen, Y. F., Breky, M. M., & Selim, Y. (2021). Experimental and theoretical investigation of Pb–Sb alloys as a gamma-radiation shielding material. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 183, 109416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109416.
• Sayyed, M. I., Hamad, M. K., Mhareb, M. H. A., Kurtulus, R., Dwaikat, N., Saleh, M., ... & Bradley, D. A. (2022). Assessment of radiation attenuation properties for novel alloys: An experimental approach. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 200, 110152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110152.
• Oto, B., Yıldız, N., Akdemir, F., & Kavaz, E. (2015). Investigation of gamma radiation shielding properties of various ores. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 85, 391-403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2015.07.016.
• Hubbell, J.H. & Berger, M.J. (1968). Sec. 4.1: Attenuation Coefficients, Energy Absorption Coefficients, and Related Quantities. and Sec. 4.2: Photon Atomic Cross Sections, in Engineering Compendium on Radiation Shielding, Vol. 1, R.G. Jaeger, ed. (Springer, Berlin), 167-202.
• Hubbell, J.H. (1969). Photon Cross Sections, Attenuation Coefficients, and Energy Absorption Coefficients from 10 keV to 100 GeV, NSRDS-NBS 29.
• Hubbell, J.H. (1977). Photon Mass Attenuation and Mass Energy-Absorption Coefficients for H, C, N, O, Ar, and Seven Mixtures from 0.1 keV to 20 MeV, Rad. Res., 70, 58-81.
• Hubbell, J.H. (1982). Photon Mass Attenuation and Energy-Absorption Coefficients from 1 keV to 20 MeV, Int. J. Appl. Radiat. Isot, 33, 1269-1290.
• Hubbell, J.H., Gimm, H.A. & Øverbø, I. (1980). Pair, Triplet, and Total Atomic Cross Sections (and Mass Attenuation Coefficients) for 1 MeV-100 GeV Photons in Elements Z = 1 to 100, J. Phys, Chem. Ref. Data 9, 1023-1147.
• Hubbell, J.H., Veigele, W.M.J., Briggs, E.A., Brown, R.T., Cromer, D.T. & Howerton, R.J. (1975). Atomic Form Factors, Incoherent Scattering Functions, and Photon Scattering Cross Sections, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 4, 471-538; erratum in 6, 615-616 (1977).
• Saloman, E.B., Hubbell, J.H. & Scofield, J.H. (1988), X-Ray Attenuation Cross Sections for Energies 100 eV to 100 keV and Elements Z = 1 to = 92, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 38, 1-197.
• Saloman, E. B. & Hubbell, J. H. (1987). Critical Analysis of Soft X-ray Cross Section Data, Nucl. Instr. Meth. A255, 38-42.
• Saloman, E. B. & Hubbell, J. H. (1986). X-ray Attenuation Coefficients: Comparison of the Experimental Database with Henke and Scofield, NBS Report NBSIR 86-3431.
• Berger, R.T. (1961). The X- or Gamma-Ray Energy Absorption or Transfer Coefficient: Tabulations and Discussion, Rad. Res. 15, 1-29.
• Seltzer, S.M. (1993). Calculation of Photon Mass Energy-Transfer and Mass Energy-Absorption Coefficients, Rad. Res. 136, 147-170.
• Seltzer, S.M. & Hubbell, J.H. (1995). Tables and Graphs of Photon Mass Attenuation Coefficient and Mass Energy-Absorption Coefficients for Photon Energies 1 keV to 20 MeV for Elements Z = 1 to 92 and Some Dosimetric Materials, Appendix to invited plenary lecture by J.H. Hubbell ``45 Years (1950-1995) with X-Ray Interactions and Applications'' presented at the 51st National Meeting of the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology, April 14-16, 1995, Nagoya, Japan.
• McMaster, W.H., Del Grande, N.K., Mallett, J.H, & Hubbell, J.H. (1969). Compilation of X-ray Cross Sections, Lawrence Livermore Lab., Report UCRL-50174.
• Storm, E. & Israel, H.I. (1970). Photon Cross Sections from 1 keV to 100 MeV for Elements Z=1 to Z=100, Nucl. Data Tables A7, 565-681.
• Veigele, W.J. (1973). Photon Cross Sections from 0.1 keV to 1 MeV for Elements Z=1 to Z=94, Atomic Data 5, 51-111.
• Plechaty, E.F., Cullen, D.E. & Howerton, R.J. (1978). Tables and Graphs of Photon-Interaction Cross Sections from 0.1 keV to 100 MeV Derived from the LLNL Evaluated-Nuclear-Data Library, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report UCRL-5400, Vol. 6, Rev. 2.
• Henke, B.L., Lee, P., Tanaka, T.J., Shimabukuro, R.L. & Fujikawa, B.K. (1982). Low Energy X-ray Interaction Coefficients: Photoabsorption, Scattering and Reflection, Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, 27,1-144.
• Scofield, J.H. (1973). Theoretical Photoionization Cross Sections from 1 to 1500 keV, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Report UCRL-51326.
• Cullen, D.E., Chen, M.H., Hubbell, J.H., Perkins, S.T., Plechaty, E.F., Rathkopf, J.A. & Scofield, J.H. (1989). Tables and Graphs of Photon-Interaction Cross Sections from 10 eV to 100 GeV Derived from the LLNL Evaluated Photon Data Library (EPDL), Part A: Z = 1 to 50; Part B: Z = 51 to 100, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report UCRL-50400, Vol. 6, Rev. 4.
• Higgins, P.D., Attix, F.H., Hubbell, J.H., Seltzer, S.M., Berger, M.J. & Sibata, C.H. (1992). Mass Energy-Transfer and Mass Energy-Absorption Coefficients, Including In-Flight Positron Annihilation for Photon Energies 1 keV to 100 MeV, NISTIR 4812.
• Leroux, J, & Thinh, T.P. (1977). Revised Tables of X-ray Mass Attenuation Coefficients, Corporation Scientifique Classique, Quebec.
• Tekin, H.O. & Manici, T. (2017). Simulations of mass attenuation coefficients for shielding materials using the MCNP-X code. NUCL SCI TECH, 28, 95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-017-0253-4
• Yoriyaz, H., Moralles, M., de Tarso Dalledone Siqueira, P., da Costa Guimarães, C., Belonsi Cintra, F., & Dos Santos, A. (2009). Physical models, cross sections, and numerical approximations used in MCNP and GEANT4 Monte Carlo codes for photon and electron absorbed fraction calculation. Medical physics, 36(11), 5198-5213. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3242304
• Almatari, M., Issa, S. A., Dong, M. G., Sayyed, M. I., & Ayad, R. (2019). Comparison between MCNP5, Geant4 and experimental data for gamma rays attenuation of PbO–BaO–B2O3 glasses. Heliyon, 5(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02364
• Ozdogan, H., Kilicoglu, O., Akman, F., & Agar, O. (2022). Comparison of Monte Carlo simulations and theoretical calculations of nuclear shielding characteristics of various borate glasses including Bi, V, Fe, and Cd. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 189, 110454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110454
• Veigele, W.J. (1973). Photon Cross Sections from 0.1 keV to 1 MeV for Elements Z=1 to Z=94, Atomic Data, 5, 51-111.
• NIST, XCOM: Photon Cross Section Database [Online Resources]. (2025). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Xcom/Text/intro.html
• Berger, M. J., Hubbell, J. H., Seltzer, S. M., Coursey, J. S., & Zucker, D. S. [Online Resources] (1999). XCOM: Photon Cross Section Database, NIST. http://physics.nist.gov/xcom
• NIST, X-ray Mass Attenuation Coefficients – Introduction [Online Resources] (2025). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/XrayMassCoef/intro.html
• Hubbell, J. H. & Seltzer, S. M. (1995). X-Ray Mass Attenuation Coefficients – Table 1, National Institute of Standards and Technology https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/XrayMassCoef/tab1.html
• Hubbell, J. H. & Seltzer, S. M. (1995). X-Ray Mass Attenuation Coefficients – Table 2, National Institute of Standards and Technology, https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/XrayMassCoef/tab2.html
• Tsoulfanidis N. & Landsberger S. (2015). Measurement and Detection of Radiation, 4th Ed. (Taylor & Francis).
• Sathish, K. V., Sowmya, N., Munirathnam, R., Manjunatha, H. C., Seenappa, L., & Sridhar, K. N. (2023). Radiation shielding properties of aluminium alloys. Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids, 178(9-10), 1301-1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420150.2023.2249180
• Sharma, A. K., & Jindal, N. (2026). Investigation of Gamma‐Ray Attenuation in Shielding Metals: A Monte Carlo Simulation. In Macromolecular Symposia (p. e70312). https://doi.org/10.1002/masy.70312.
• Alsaiari, N. S., Alsufyani, S. J., Alrowaili, Z. A., Eke, C., Sriwunkum, C., & Al-Buriahi, M. S. (2025). Radiation attenuation, dose rate and buildup factors of gallium silicate glass system for nuclear shielding applications. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 229, 112500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2024.112500.
• Sathish, K. V., Manjunatha, H. C., Vidya, Y. S., Seenappa, L., Sridhar, K. N., Gupta, P. D., & Raj, A. C. (2022). Gamma, X-ray, and neutron shielding properties of silicon–germanium alloys. Canadian Journal of Physics, 100(12), 543-549. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjp-2021-0080.
• Ekinci, N., El-Agawany, F. I., Gurol, A., Rammah, Y. S., Ahmed, E. M., Yılmaz, D., ... & Somer, M. (2022). Physical properties, experimental and theoretical gamma-ray shielding properties of some boron compounds. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 194, 110012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110012.
• Sathish, K. V., Manjunatha, H. C., Seenappa, L., Sridhar, K. N., Sowmya, N., & Raj, S. A. C. (2022). Gamma, X-ray and neutron shielding properties of iron boron alloys. Materials Today: Proceedings, 49, 613-619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.04.516.
• Dipto, R. R., & Mollah, A. S. (2025). Comparative Study on Gamma Radiation Attenuation Parameters between In-House Developed and Locally Available Shielding Materials. International Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Systems. 10, 1-16.
• Aloraini, D. A., Hanfi, M. Y., Sayyed, M. I., Naseer, K. A., Almuqrin, A. H., Tamayo, P., ... & Mahmoud, K. A. (2022). Design and gamma-ray attenuation features of new concrete materials for low-and moderate-photons energy protection applications. Materials, 15(14), 4947. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144947.
• Yi, C. Y., Kim, Y. H., Kim, I. J., Park, J. I., & Seong, Y. M. (2024). Measurement of average mass attenuation coefficient of air for 137Cs gamma-ray irradiation beam. Metrologia, 61(6), 065005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/ad8091.
• Mishra, A., & Khanal, R. (2023). Scattering of gamma radiation by air in the ambient environment using gamma ray spectrometry. Kuwait Journal of Science, 50(3B). https://doi.org/10.48129/kjs.17253.
• Arif Sazali, M., Alang Md Rashid, N. K., & Hamzah, K. (2019, June). A review on multilayer radiation shielding. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 555, No. 1, p. 012008). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/555/1/012008
• Daneshvar, H., Milan, K. G., Sadr, A., Sedighy, S. H., Malekie, S., & Mosayebi, A. (2021). Multilayer radiation shield for satellite electronic components protection. Scientific reports, 11(1), 20657. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99739-2
• Guan, S., Fu, G., Wan, B., Wang, X., & Chen, Z. (2025). Multi-objective optimization and reliability assessment of multi-layer radiation shielding for deep space missions. Aerospace, 12(4), 337. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12040337
• Allison, J. W. (1961). Gamma Radiation Absorption Coefficients of Various Materials Allowing for Bremsstrahlung and Other Secondary Radiations. Australian Journal of Physics, 14(4), 443-468.