GAUSS IX: an interactive program for the analysis of gamma-ray spectra from Ge semiconductor detectors

The newest member of a series of computer programs developed at the INEL for analysis of gamma-ray spectra from Ge semiconductor detectors is GAUSS IX. This program makes use of the computational routines of GAUSS VII in an interactive structure. The interactive features are implemented with OSF/Motif and the X Window System. This interactive version can dramatically decrease the turnaround time for spectral analyses, especially when the user needs to refit some of the peaks with specially-chosen fitting parameters. The graphic features increase the opportunity for detecting patterns and anomalies in the spectral analyses. The user of this program can set up the analysis parameters (i.e., peaks, peak regions, etc.) interactively via window dialogs. The user can interactively display and review the results, selectively re-fit peaks, and save or purge the results, as appropriate. The spectral displays can include the spectral data, peak locations, peak fitting regions, fit curves, and background curves; and the display is completely zoomable, scrollable, and resizable