Does every photopeak orginate a Compton edge?

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The discussion centers on the observation of Compton edges in energy spectrums of various nuclides, specifically questioning why only one Compton edge is visible despite multiple photopeaks. The user initially believed that only photopeaks below 1022 keV would generate a Compton edge, but noted that the Compton edge corresponding to the Co-60 peak at 1.33 MeV contradicts this assumption. The conversation highlights that Compton scattering can occur above the pair production threshold, indicating that pair production is an additional process rather than a limiting factor.

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carllacan
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Hi.

I have to analyse the energy spectrums of several nuclides and observe their photopeaks and the Compton edges originated by these. I only see one Compton edge on all the spectrums, no matter how many photopeaks they are.

At first I thought I should only expect photopeaks under 1022 keV to originate a Compton edge, since photons above this energy would also undergo pair production, but in the solved example we are provided the Compton edge for the Co-60 is marked as corresponding to the 1,33 MeV peak, which contradicts my reasoning:
Screenshot_from_2015_12_12_14_50_23.png


Why do we only see one Compton edge? And why is the one for the largest energy peak?

Thank you for your time.

PD: I'm not sure if this should be in homework: I think it doesn't, since while I need to know this to solve the problem it is mainly a question about Compton scattering, but I apology otherwise.
 
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Compton scattering happens above the pair production threshold as well. Pair production is just an additional process.
 

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