Discrepancies in atomic shell and fluorescent X‐ray energies in the Evaluated Photon Data Library EPDL97

There are significant differences between the atomic orbital energies listed in the evaluated photon data library EPDL97 and values published elsewhere. In particular, comparisons with the values adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show discrepancies up to several hundred electron volts. Although the uncertainties in the EPDL97 atomic orbital energies were recognised by the original authors, the library has subsequently been widely adopted as a primary source of photon transport and atomic relaxation data. We compare experimentally measured X‐ray fluorescence spectra with fits using the EPDL97 and NIST line energies. Our results strongly favour the NIST energies for K‐shell and L‐shell fluorescent X‐rays and show that the EPDL97 atomic orbital energy values should not be used for applications, such as X‐ray fluorescence, where atomic relaxation phenomena are important. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.