openmc.data.mass_attenuation_coefficient

openmc.data.mass_attenuation_coefficient(element)

Return the photon mass attenuation coefficient as a function of energy.

The mass energy-absorption coefficient, \(\mu_\text{en}/\rho\), is defined as the fraction of incident photon energy absorbed in a material per unit mass. Values for each element are obtained from NIST Standard Reference Database 8: XCOM Photon Cross Sections Database.

Parameters:

element (str or int) – Element symbol (e.g., ‘Fe’) or atomic number (e.g., 26).

Returns:

Mass attenuation coefficient [cm^2/g] as a function of photon energy [eV], using log-log interpolation.

Return type:

Tabulated1D