Nuclear Fragmentation Cross Sections for NASA Database Development
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Published: 2001
Total Pages: 5
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DOWNLOAD EBOOKHeavy ions with energies of hundreds to thousands of MeV/nucleon are present in the Galactic Cosmic Rays and will be a source of risk to astronaut health when long-duration crewed missions are undertaken. Nuclear interactions of these GCR ions in shielding materials must be accurately modeled by transport codes in order to estimate the dose and dose equivalent at points inside a spacecraft. Uncertainties in the nuclear fragmentation cross sections are propagated into these estimates, and the overall uncertainties increase as shielding depth increases. A program of fragmentation cross section measurements has therefore been undertaken to reduce these uncertainties, using GCR-like ion species and energies in particle accelerators in the United States, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and in Japan at the National Institute of Radiological Science's Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC). An extensive set of data has been obtained with beams ranging from helium to iron and including most of the species that are prominent in the GCR.
