Benchmarking FLUKA, PHITS, MCNPX, and MARS15 codes with product yields of 209Bi(p, x) reactions

Abstract

The Monte Carlo particle transport codes, FLUKA, PHITS, MCNPX, and MARS15 were benchmarked by comparison to the measured product yields of proton-induced reactions on 209Bi from 43 to 100 MeV energy range. Two rounds of experiment were carried out to measure product yields of 209Bi(p, xn)207,206,205,204,203Po and 209Bi(p, pxn)207,206,205,204Bi reactions by using 100 MeV and 69 MeV proton beams. The targets were arranged in the stacks consisting of 209Bi activation foils, Al and Au monitor foils, and Pb plates as energy degraders. The predictive capability of the codes has been proven to be satisfactory from 55 to 100 MeV energy range. However, all codes are likely to underestimate the product yields of both investigated reactions over whole energy range and also the discrepancy between codes and measurements become larger at energy lower than 55 MeV.