Improvement of gamma-ray S-n transport calculations including coherent and incoherent scatterings and secondary sources of bremsstrahlung and fluorescence: Determination of gamma-ray buildup factors

Improvements of gamma-ray transport calculations in S-n codes aim at taking into account the bound-electron effect of Compton scattering (incoherent), coherent scattering (Rayleigh), and secondary sources of bremsstrahlung and fluorescence. A computation scheme was developed to take into account these phenomena by modifying the angular and energy transfer matrices, and no modification in the transport code has been made. The incoherent and coherent scatterings as well as fluorescence sources can be strictly treated by the transfer matrix change. For bremsstrahlung sources, this is possible if we can neglect the charged particles path as they pass through the matter (electrons and positrons) and is applicable for the energy range of interest for us (below 10 MeV). These improvements have been reported on the kernel attenuation codes by the calculation of new buildup factors. The gamma-ray buildup factors have been carried out for 25 natural elements up to 30 mean free paths in the energy range between 15 keV and 10 MeV.