Photon production through multi-step processes important in nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments

We present calculations describing the production of photons through multi-step processes occurring when a beam of gamma-rays interacts with a macroscopic material. These processes involve the creation of energetic electrons through Compton scattering, photo-absorption and pair production, the subsequent scattering of these electrons, and the creation of energetic photons occurring as these electrons are slowed through Bremsstrahlung emission. Unlike single Compton collisions, during which an energetic photon that is scattered through a large angle loses most of its energy, these multi-step processes result in a sizable flux of energetic photons traveling at large angles relative to an incident photon beam. These multi-step processes are also a key background in experiments that measure nuclear resonance fluorescence by shining photons on a thin foil and observing the spectrum of back-scattered photons. Effective cross sections describing the production of back-scattered photons are presented in a tabular form that allows simple estimates of backgrounds expected in a variety of experiments. Incident photons with energies between 0.5 MeV and 8 MeV are considered. These calculations of effective cross sections may be useful for those designing NRF experiments or systems that detect specific isotopes in well-shielded environments through observation of resonance fluorescence.