Response of Large NaI Detector to Energetic Gamma Rays (2010)

Undergraduate: Lisa Nash

Faculty Advisor: Hugon Karwowski
Department: Physics & Astronomy

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"NaI scintillation detectors are often used to measure gamma ray energy spectra for nuclear physics experiments. To accurately analyze data obtained, detectors must be properly characterized. This project focused on the Monte-Carlo simulation of energy deposition in a large NaI detector modeled using the Geant4 simulation ‘toolkit.’ The detector resolution as a function of gamma ray energy was determined using fits to the experimental data obtained at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory.

The final simulated spectra were created by spreading the calculated response function.

It is expected that these results could be extended to higher energies once well known measurements of the detector’s response are obtained experimentally.