Linear polarization properties of energetic x-raysbeing Compton-scattered off atomic targets

We perform a study on the Compton scattering of a photon beam off atomic targets. The mainfocus of this study is the influence of the momentum distribution of the target electrons on thepolarization transfer in Compton scattering from the incident to the scattered photons. For thispurpose we developed a Monte Carlo simulation of the Compton scattering process based on therelativistic impulse approximation. This simulation provides information on the doubledifferential scattering cross section as well as the linear polarization of the scattered radiation overthe entire energy range of the Compton peak for arbitrary incident linear polarizationcharacteristics. Furthermore, we compare the predictions yielded by the simulation to dataobtained in an experiment where a highly linearly polarized hard x-ray beam with a photon energyof 175 keV was scattered off a thin gold foil target. Both the simulation as well as the experimentalresults suggest a deviation of the linear polarization of the scattered radiation at the center of theCompton peak compared to scattering off a free electron at rest and a change of the polarizationover the Compton peak due to the influence of the initial electron momentum.