A Method For The Analysis Of Complex Peaks Occurring In Gamma Ray Pulse Height Distributions

A method is described which can be used to compute the areas of overlapping peaks occurring in gamma-ray pulse height distributions in which the data are obtained in the form of histograms. The method is applicable to study of nuclear decay schemes and to the analysis of mixtures of radionuclides. The method can also be used to determine the energy of a gamma ray giving rise to a peak which is obscured by one or two other peaks from gamma rays of known energies. The method is based on the assumption that the events contributing to peak area are distributed about a central location according to the normal probability distribution. Prior calibration of the pulse height analyzer with sources of known energy is necessary for the application of the method.