Monte Carlo simulation of the LIDAL-ALTEA detector system

C Berucci,C La Tessa,L Narici,C De Donato,G Masciantonio,A Rizzo,M Rovituso,L Di Fino,M C Morone,F Tommasino,R Messi

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1226/1/012020

Abstract

The LIDAL (Light Ion Detector for ALTEA) is a device designed to work paired with three silicon detector units of ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) in order to improve the particle identification capabilities of ALTEA on the International Space Station also providing Time-of-Flight measurements. The LIDAL-ALTEA goal is to measure ions from protons up to iron in real time. The improved measurements of the radiation environment inside ISS will be very valuable for radiation risk assessment and mitigation. It is necessary to have a detailed simulation of the apparatus response to cosmic ray nuclei in order to assess the detector response, its observational capabilities and to set the relevant parameters of the device. Here a new Monte Carlo simulation of the LIDAL-ALTEA setup and physics processes, in the framework of FLUKA, is presented. A comparison between Monte Carlo simulations and calibration data is also shown.

Highlights

The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) experiment, developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was aimed at the study of the transient and long term effects of cosmic particles on the astronauts cerebral functions [1]
The LIDAL (Light Ion Detector for ALTEA) is a device designed to work paired with three silicon detector units of ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) in order to improve the particle identification capabilities of ALTEA on the International Space Station providing Time-of-Flight measurements
The LIDAL-ALTEA apparatus is an upgrade of the ALTEA detector scheduled to fly in the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019; its main goal is to measure in detail the low-Z part of the particles spectrum inside the ISS, through Time-Of-Flight (TOF) technique, measuring the velocity β of the passing through particles

Summary

Introduction

The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) experiment, developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was aimed at the study of the transient and long term effects of cosmic particles on the astronauts cerebral functions [1]. The LIDAL-ALTEA apparatus is an upgrade of the ALTEA detector scheduled to fly in the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019; its main goal is to measure in detail the low-Z part of the particles spectrum inside the ISS, through Time-Of-Flight (TOF) technique, measuring the velocity β of the passing through particles. Another important task of LIDAL-ALTEA is the Particle IDentification (PID). The MC techniques used as well as the results obtained for the two configurations, ALTEA and LIDAL-ALTEA, where the first one is used as a validation for the simulation code

LIDAL-ALTEA setup

Conclusion