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At least 19 records

A true gamma-radiation spectrometer.

Gamma radiation spectrometer using standard scintillation detector and outputs gamma spectrum with spurious peaks and tails corrected

Burrus, W. R.↗

Gamma Ray Spectrometers

Gamma rays are high energy electromagnetic radiation with energies typically starting from a few tens of keV and extending to beyond TeV energies. Although gamma rays, like other electromagnectic radiation, can be characterized by frequency and wavelength, they are more particle-like in nature and carry energy, and momentum.

frequencywavelength↗

Induced Background in the Mars Observer Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

Gamma-Ray Spectrometers in space must necessarily work in an environment of a background of lines due to natural and cosmic-ray induced radioactivity and lines due to prompt emission following nuclear reactions caused by primary and secondary cosmic rays. The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on the Mar Observer mission has provided important data allowing one to estimate for future missions the extent of the background due to cosmic rays. These data will help in the design of instruments and in calculation of realistic background intensities that may effect the sensitivity of determining the intensity of lines of interest.

Boynton, William V.↗

Characteristics of bursts observed by the SMM Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

The Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on the SMM completed close to 10 years of highly successful operation when the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere on December 2, 1989. During this period the GRS detected 177 events above 300 keV which have been classified as cosmic gamma-ray bursts. A catalog of these events is in preparation which will include time profiles and spectra for all events. Visual inspection of the spectra indicates that emission typically extends into the MeV range, without any evidence for a high-energy cutoff; 17 of these events are also observed above 10 MeV. We find no convincing evidence for line-like emission features in any of the time-integrated spectra.

Share, G. H.↗

Compton scatter attenuation gamma ray spectrometer

A gamma ray spectrometer is described for use in intense radiation fields such as those in the vicinity of a rocket engine exhaust. A collimated radiation beam is Compton scattered toward shielded spectrometers to reduce the energy and intensity of the radiation and is energy selective among the spectrometers. The scattering targets are changeable to control the percentage of the radiation scattered. Sum-Compton coincidence techniques are employed for data selection.

Austin, W. E.↗

Monte Carlo calibration of the SMM gamma ray spectrometer for high energy gamma rays and neutrons

The Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft was primarily designed and calibrated for nuclear gamma ray line measurements, but also has a high energy mode which allows the detection of gamma rays at energies above 10 MeV and solar neutrons above 20 MeV. The GRS response has been extrapolated until now for high energy gamma rays from an early design study employing Monte Carlo calculations. The response to 50 to 600 MeV solar neutrons was estimated from a simple model which did not consider secondary charged particles escaping into the veto shields. In view of numerous detections by the GRS of solar flares emitting high energy gamma rays, including at least two emitting directly detectable neutrons, the calibration of the high energy mode in the flight model has been recalculated by the use of more sophisticated Monte Carlo computer codes. New results presented show that the GRS response to gamma rays above 20 MeV and to neutrons above 100 MeV is significantly lower than the earlier estimates.

Cooper, J. F.↗

The Apollo gamma-ray spectrometer

A gamma-ray spectrometer has been flown on the Apollo 15 and 16 spacecraft to determine the lunar-surface composition and measure the cosmic gamma-ray flux. The instrument included a NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal coupled to a 7.6-cm photomultiplier tube, a plastic mantle for anti-coincidence rejection of charged particles, and 511 channels of analysis. Boom-mounted operation permitted a significant reduction in the background. The data were transmitted on an event-by-event basis. About 22% of the lunar surface was mapped and spectra of the cosmic gamma-ray flux over an energy range of 0.065-27.5 MeV have been obtained.

Harrington, T. M.↗

Gamma Rays in a Spectrum from the Mars Odyssey Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

The gamma-ray spectrum from a long sum over the middle latitudes of Mars measured by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer was analyzed. About 250 peaks and features were observed, including many seen during the cruise to Mars. The sources of about 85% of these gamma rays were identified. Most were background lines from the Ge detector or from Ti, Mg, and Zn near the detector.

Reedy, R. C.↗

Observation of gamma-ray bursts with the SMM gamma-ray spectrometer

The gamma-ray spectrometer on SMM is sensitive to bursts within its field of view with intensities greater than 0.000005 erg/sq cm above 100 keV. It has detected 17 events between February 1980 and March 1981 with the characteristics of cosmic gamma-ray bursts. The most intense burst, on 19 April 1980, had a photon spectrum consistent with a power law with spectral index - 2.5 from 300 keV to approximately 7 MeV. It is not possible at present to exclude the sun as the source of this burst. Spectra of 11 of the bursts have been studied for line features with no clear evidence for line emission greater than 300 keV. The continuum radiation from about half of these events have hard emission extending to approximately equal to or greater than 2 MeV.

Share, G. H.↗

Science applications of the Mars Observer gamma ray spectrometer

The Mars Observer gamma ray spectrometer will return data related to the elemental composition of Mars. The instrument has both a gamma ray spectrometer and several neutron detectors. The gamma ray spectrometer will return a spectrum nominally every 20 s from Mars permitting a map of the elemental abundances to be made. The gamma rays are emitted from nuclei involved in radioactive decay, from nuclei formed by capture of a thermal neutron, and from nuclei put in an excited state by a fast-neutron interaction. The gamma rays come from an average depth of the order of a few tens of centimeters. The spectrum will show sharp emission lines whose intensity determines the concentration of the element and whose energy identifies the element. The neutron detectors, using the fact that the orbital velocity of the Mars Observer spacecraft is similar to the velocity of thermal neutrons, determine both the thermal and epithermal neutron flux. By combining the results from both techniques it is possible to map the depth dependence of hydrogen in the upper meter as well. These data permit a variety of Martian geoscience problems to be addressed including the crust and mantle composition, weathering processes, volcanism, and the volatile reservoirs and processes.

Boynton, W. V.↗

Elemental Composition Variations for Large Dusty and Rocky Regions on Mars Using Gamma-Ray Data from the Mars Odyssey Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has been mapping the elemental composition of the surface materials since June 2002. To study elemental composition variations on the martian surface, seven large regions of Mars were selected: three very dusty ones and four mainly rocky ones. Large regions were used to get good counting statistics on as many gamma-ray peaks as possible from spectrum accumulated by the GRS experiment on Mars Odyssey, including elements with poor counting statistics. Data from TES were used to help select these regions. Gamma-ray peaks for several elements were analyzed. Some results and trends are reported.

Evans, L. G.↗

Scientific Objectives of the Mars Surveyor 2001 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) is one of the instruments on the Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter, which is part of NASA's Mars-Surveyor program. The GRS is really an instrument suite consisting of the GRS, a neutron spectrometer (NS), and a high-energy neutron detector (FIEND). Each of these instruments/sensors are remotely mounted at different locations on the spacecraft and connect to a central electronics box. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. It is an updated design using the same technology as the lost Mars Observer mission. The Martian surface is continuously bombarded by cosmic ray particles; their interactions with the constituents of the soil produces nuclear reaction cascades with fast neutrons being the main secondaries. Those neutrons interact in turn with the nuclei of the elements that make up the soil and they eventually get slowed to thermal energies. In this process they leave the nuclei in an excited state that decays via the emission of characteristic gamma rays. All these processes are precisely known and have been simulated by means of numerical models. Thus, remote gamma-ray spectroscopy is a useful method for quantitatively measuring the geochemical composition of the surface down to a few tens of g/sq cm. Additional information is contained in original extended abstract.

Boynton, W. V.↗

Lunar surface radioactivity - Preliminary results of the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 gamma-ray spectrometer experiments.

Gamma-ray spectrometers on the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 missions have been used to map the moon's radioactivity over 20 percent of its surface. The highest levels of natural radioactivity are found in Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum with contrastingly lower enhancements in the eastern maria. The ratio of potassium to uranium is higher on the far side than on the near side, although it is everywhere lower than commonly found on the earth.

Metzger, A. E.↗