Fragmentation of 14-N, 16-O, 20-Ne, and 24-Mg Nuclei at 290 to 1000 MeV/nucleon

We report fragmentation cross sections measured at 0 deg for beams of 14-N, 16-O, 20-Ne, and 24-Mg ions, at energies ranging from 290 MeV/nucleon to 1000 MeV/nucleon. Beams were incident on targets of C, CH2, Al, Cu, Sn, and Pb, with the C and CH2 target data used to obtain hydrogen-target cross sections. Using methods established in earlier work, cross sections obtained with both large-acceptance and small-acceptance detectors are extracted from the data and when necessary corrected for acceptance effects. The large-acceptance data yield cross sections for fragments with charges approximately half of the beam charge and above, with minimal corrections. Cross sections for lighter fragments are obtained from small-acceptance spectra, with more significant, model-dependent corrections that account for the fragment angular distributions. Results for both charge-changing and fragment production cross sections are compared to the predictions of the Los Alamos version of the Quark Gluon String Model (LAQGSM) as well as the NUCFRG2 and PHITS models. For all beams and targets, cross sections for fragments as light as He are compared to the models. Estimates of multiplicity-weighted helium production cross sections are obtained from the data and compared to PHITS and LAQGSM predictions. Summary statistics show that the level of agreement between data and predictions is slightly better for PHITS than for either NUCFRG2 or LAQGSM.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, 13 tables, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Fragmentation Cross Sections of Medium-Energy 35Cl, 40Ar, and 48TiBeams on Elemental Targets

Charge-changing and fragment production cross sections at 0degrees have been obtained for interactions of 290, 400, and 650MeV/nucleon 40Ar beams, 650 and 1000 MeV/nucleon 35Cl beams, and a 1000MeV/nucleon 48Ti beam. Targets of C, CH2, Al, Cu, Sn, and Pb were used.Using standard analysis methods, we obtain fragment cross sections forcharges as low as 8 for Cl and Ar beams, and as low as 10 for the Tibeam. Using data obtained with small-acceptance detectors, we reportfragment production cross sections for charges as low as 5, corrected foracceptance using a simple model of fragment angular distributions. Withthe lower-charged fragment cross sections, we cancompare the data topredictions from several models (including NUCFRG2, EPAX2, and PHITS) ina region largely unexplored in earlier work. As found in earlier workwith other beams, NUCFRG2 and PHITS predictions agree reasonably wellwith the data for charge-changing cross sections, but do not accuratelypredict the fragment production cross sections. The cross sections forthe lightest fragments demonstrate the inadequacy of several models inwhich the cross sections fall monotonically with the charge of thefragment. PHITS, despite not agreeing particularly well with the fragmentproduction cross sections on average, nonetheless qualitativelyreproduces somesignificant features of the data that are missing from theother models

Fragmentation of 1 GeV/nucleon iron ions in thick targets relevant for space exploration

We have measured charged nuclear fragments produced by 1 GeV/nucleon 56 Fe ions interacting with aluminium, polyethylene and lead. These materials are relevant for assessment of radiation risk for manned space flight. The data will be presented in a form suitable for comparison with models of nuclear fragmentation and transport, including linear energy transfer (LET) spectrum, fluence for iron and fragments, event-tack- and even t-dose-averaged LET, total dose and iron contribution to dose

Fragmentation Cross Sections of 290 and 400 MeV/nucleon 12C Beams on Elemental Targets

Charge-changing and fragment production cross sections at 0 circ have been obtained for interactions of 290 MeV/nucleon and 400 MeV/nucleon carbon beams with C, CH2, Al, Cu, Sn, and Pb targets. These beams are relevant to cancer therapy, space radiation, and the production of radioactive beams. We compare to previously published results using C and CH2 targets at similar beam energies. Due to ambiguities arising from the presence of multiple fragments on many events, previous publications have reported only cross sections for B and Be fragments. In this work we have extracted cross sections for all fragment species, using data obtained at three distinct values of angular acceptance, supplemented by data taken with the detector stack placed off the beam axis. A simulation of the experiment with the PHITS Monte Carlo code shows fair agreement with the data obtained with the large acceptance detectors, but agreement is poor at small acceptance. The measured cross sections are also compared to the predictions of the one-dimensional cross section models EPAX2 and NUCFRG2; the latter is presently used in NASA's space radiation transport calculations. Though PHITS and NUCFRG2 reproduce the charge-changing cross sections with reasonable accuracy, none of the models is able to accurately predict the fragment cross sections for all fragment species and target materials

Weak and strong factorization properties in nucleus-nucleus collisions in the energy region 290–2100 MeV/n

We have collected from the literature partial charge-changing cross sections for projectiles with charge

Weak and strong factorization properties in nucleus-nucleus collisions in the energy region 290–2100 MeV/n

We have collected from the literature partial charge-changing cross sections for projectiles with charge

Nuclear fragmentation database for GCR transport code development

A critical need for NASA is the ability to accurately model the transport of heavy ions in the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) through matter, including spacecraft walls, equipment racks, etc. Nuclear interactions are of great importance in the GCR transport problem, as they can cause fragmentation of the incoming ion into lighter ions. Since the radiation dose delivered by a particle is proportional to the square of (charge/velocity), fragmentation reduces the dose delivered by incident ions. The other mechanism by which dose can be reduced is ionization energy loss, which can lead to some particles stopping in the shielding. This is the conventional notion of shielding, but it is not applicable to human spaceflight since the particles in the GCR tend to be too energetic to be stopped in the relatively thin shielding that is possible within payload mass constraints. Our group has measured a large number of fragmentation cross sections, intended to be used as input to, or for validation of, NASA's radiation transport models. A database containing over 200 charge-changing cross sections and over 2000 fragment production cross sections has been compiled. In this report, we examine in detail the contrast between fragment measurements at large acceptance and small acceptance. We use output from the PHITS Monte Carlo code to test our assumptions using as an example Ar-40 data (and simulated data) at a beam energy of 650 MeV/nucleon. We also present preliminary analysis in which isotopic resolution was attained for beryllium fragments produced by beams of B-10 and B-11. Future work on the experimental data set will focus on extracting and interpreting production cross sections for light fragments. (C) 2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Fragmentation of 14N, 16O, 20Ne, and 24Mg nuclei at 290 to 1000 MeV/nucleon

We report fragmentation cross sections measured at 0ˆ for beams of 14N, 16O, 20Ne, and 24Mg ions, at energies ranging from 290 MeV/nucleon to 1000 MeV/nucleon. Beams were incident on targets of C, CH2, Al, Cu, Sn, and Pb, with the C and CH2 target data used to obtain hydrogen-target cross sections. Using methods established in earlier work, cross sections obtained with both large-acceptance and small-acceptance detectors are extracted from the data and, when necessary, corrected for acceptance effects. The large-acceptance data yield cross sections for fragments with charges approximately half of the beam charge and above, with minimal corrections. Cross sections for lighter fragments are obtained from small-acceptance spectra, with more significant, model-dependent corrections that account for the fragment angular distributions. Results for both charge-changing and fragment production cross sections are compared to the predictions of the Los Alamos version of the quark gluon string model (LAQGSM) as well as the NASA Nuclear Fragmentation (NUCFRG2) model and the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport System (PHITS) model. For all beams and targets, cross sections for fragments as light as He are compared to the models. Estimates of multiplicity-weighted helium production cross sections are obtained from the data and compared to PHITS and LAQGSM predictions. Summary statistics show that the level of agreement between data and predictions is slightly better for PHITS than for either NUCFRG2 or LAQGSM