A Monte Carlo Approach to the Simulation of Characteristic X-ray Yields for the APXS Instrument

Abstract

In this thesis a new Monte Carlo simulation (MCYAC) is created and employed,which simulates measurements taken by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) on the Mars Science Laboratory rover. Several consistency checks are conducted to test the validity of MCYAC. The checks verify that the simulation gives consistently reasonable results. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation are compared to those found experimentally, with experimental X-ray yields per second calculated using the GUAPX least squares tting program. The largest source of discrepancy between these programs is thought to come from the geometry values of the APXS instrument used in the Monte Carlo simulation, some of which are unknown.