Deterministic Transport Methods for the Simulation of Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy Scenarios

Radiation transport modeling methods used in the radiation detection community fall into one of two broad categories: stochastic (Monte Carlo) and deterministic. Monte Carlo methods are typically the tool of choice for simulating gamma-ray spectrometers operating in homeland and national security settings (e.g. portal monitoring of vehicles or isotope identification using handheld devices), but deterministic codes that discretize the linear Boltzmann transport equation in space, angle, and energy offer potential advantages in computational efficiency for many complex radiation detection problems. This paper describes the development of deterministic algorithms for simulating gamma-ray spectroscopy scenarios. Key challenges include: formulating methods to automatically define an energy group structure that can support modeling of gamma-ray spectrometers ranging from low to high resolution; combining deterministic transport algorithms (e.g. ray-tracing and discrete ordinates) to mitigate ray effects for a wide range of problem types; and developing efficient and accurate methods to calculate gamma-ray spectrometer response functions from the deterministic angular flux solutions. In this paper, the software framework aimed at addressing these challenges is described and results from test problems that compare deterministic and Monte Carlo approaches are provided.