  Several total and partial photoionization cross section calculations, based
on both theoretical and empirical approaches, are quantitatively evaluated with
statistical analyses using a large collection of experimental data retrieved
from the literature to identify the state of the art for modeling the
photoelectric effect in Monte Carlo particle transport. Some of the examined
cross section models are available in general purpose Monte Carlo systems,
while others have been implemented and subjected to validation tests for the
first time to estimate whether they could improve the accuracy of particle
transport codes. The validation process identifies Scofield's 1973
non-relativistic calculations, tabulated in the Evaluated Photon Data
Library(EPDL), as the one best reproducing experimental measurements of total
cross sections. Specialized total cross section models, some of which derive
from more recent calculations, do not provide significant improvements.
Scofield's non-relativistic calculations are not surpassed regarding the
compatibility with experiment of K and L shell photoionization cross sections
either, although in a few test cases Ebel's parameterization produces more
accurate results close to absorption edges. Modifications to Biggs and
Lighthill's parameterization implemented in Geant4 significantly reduce the
accuracy of total cross sections at low energies with respect to its original
formulation. The scarcity of suitable experimental data hinders a similar
extensive analysis for the simulation of the photoelectron angular
distribution, which is limited to a qualitative appraisal.
