Lineshape response of plastic scintillator to pair production of 4.44 MeV gamma's
arXiv:2512.07023 · doi:10.1016/j.nima.2023.168490
Abstract
We measure the distribution of energy deposited in a 40x88 mm plastic scintillator by e+ e- pair production of 4.44 MeV gamma-rays. We observe the double-escape peak of 3.42 MeV from pair production by tagging 511 keV annihilation radiation in two high-Z scintillators. The source is a standard commercial neutron source using alpha-emitting 241Am encapsulated with 9Be, which has a reaction branch feeding the first Ipi=2+ state of 12C making the 4.44 MeV gamma-rays. We demonstrate the extraction of the double-escape peak from the large neutron-produced backgound, and explore some of the features and difficulties of this technique with our apparatus.
7 pages, 5 figures, published in NIM A