Small-angle Compton scattering of gamma rays by atoms

The energy spectra of 344, 779, 964, 1086/1112 and 1408 keV gamma rays scattered through 5, 7, 10 and 15' by targets of Al, Cu, Mo, Sn, Ta and Pb have been measured using a Ge(Li) detector. The Compton peaks are closely fitted by a convolution of an instrumental lineshape and a theoretical lineshape computed using the relativistic impulse model of bound Compton scattering. Integrated energy spectra yield incoherent scattering functions in very close agreement with theoretical values taken from existing tabulations based upon the Waller-Hartree form factor model and with values obtained by direct numerical integration of the relativistic impulse model lineshapes.