Measurement of doubly differential collision cross-sections for double-photon Compton scattering of 0.662 MeV gamma rays

Abstract

The doubly differential collision cross-sections of the double-photon Compton process have been measured experimentally for 0.662 MeV incident gamma photons. The measurements are carried out using a single gamma detector, a technique avoiding the use of the complicated slow-fast coincidence set-up used till now for observing this higher order QED process. The energy spectra of detected photons are observed as a long tail to the single-photon Compton line on the lower side of the full energy peak in the recorded scattered energy spectrum. The measured values of the cross-section for different independent energy levels of one of the two final photons are of the same magnitude but show deviation from the corresponding values obtained from the theory. However, the present measurements are first of its kind and in view of the nature and order of deviations, the agreement of measured values with theory is quite satisfactory. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.