Full-energy absorption of x-ray energies near the Xe L- and K-photoionization thresholds in xenon gas detectors: Simulation and experimental results

Distributions of the number of primary electrons produced per incident mono-energetic x-rays in the 1- to 41-keV energy range, which includes the xenon L- and K-absorption edges, were simulated in xenon gas detectors with the Monte Carlo technique. These simulated full-energy absorption distributions are calculated as frequency plots of the number of primary electrons produced per incident x-ray photon. The simulation includes the absorption of x-rays and the de-excitation of the residual xenon ions, followed by the development of the primary electron cloud. The discontinuities observed in the Fano factor, w-value, energy linearity and energy resolution reflect the discontinuities of the Xe photoionization cross-section at the photoabsorption edges. The simulation results are compared with experimental values measured with a gas proportional scintillation counter, and with recent data from other authors. The discontinuities in energy linearity produce an ambiguity in determining the x-ray energy in certain narrow ranges containing the edges. However, our simulation results permit a detailed analysis of observations in these regions. At the K-edge, the discontinuities in the calculated Fano factor and energy resolution were found to depend on the extent to which the K-fluorescence produced by the xenon atoms is allowed to escape. A discussion of the asymmetry of the calculated full-energy absorption peaks is made in terms of the distinction between the different decay branches initiated by photoionization of the Xe atoms, and K-fluorescence escape is found to influence strongly the skewness of the calculated distributions.