20Ne ion range and fragmentation cross-sections in various targets for space shielding and hadrontherapy applications: A Monte Carlo simulation study

Abstract

The computational study of projectile range and partial fragmentation cross-section (PFXS) has been executed for 20Ne ion using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. The interaction of heavy semi-symmetric system for energy range 290 MeV/n−670 MeV/n has been researched on various targets: carbon (C), aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), and tantalum (Ta). The range simulated via Geant4 and SRIM software shows an agreement of ~ 99%. The PFXS simulation has been conducted using three models of Geant4: the Binary Cascade (BIC), Liege Intranuclear cascade (INCL++), and Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD). The PFXS is computed for heavy (Z = 5–9) and light (Z = 2–4) fragments. These models have been validated by analysing simulation data with experimental and semi-empirical nuclear fragmentation model data. The QMD model provides the best data for PFXS following an odd–even effect for all targets. The BIC and the INCL++ behave in similar manner for high Z target.