Handbook on Photonuclear Data for Applications

Cross-sections and Spectra

Photons are commonly produced as bremsstrahluing radiation by the electron accelerators housed in many hospitals, industrial facilities, and research and analytical laboratories. These photonuclear data describe the quantitative interactions of photons with atomic nuclei, and are of significant importance in a wide variety of applications, ranging from radiation shielding and radiotherapy to structural inspection technologies and studies of the possible transmutation of nuclear wastes. The IAEA has completed a successful initiative to internationally co-ordinate the assembly of a comprehensive set of evaluated photonuclear data based on both the available experimental data and the model codes. Only data suitable for radiation transport calculations have been considered; these data are complete and include the spectra of emitted particles. The IAEA Photonuclear Data Library is recommended for use in applications involving simulations of neutron production and other photon-induced nuclear reactions. This database allows researchers to assess the importance of photonuclear reactions in a wide range of applications.