Comparison of GEANT4 very low energy cross section models with experimental data in water

Journal Article · Wed Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Medical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3476457· OSTI ID:22100585

Incerti, S.; Ivanchenko, A.; Karamitros, M.; Mantero, A.; Moretto, P.; Tran, H. N.; Mascialino, B.; Champion, C.; Ivanchenko, V. N.; Bernal, M. A.; Francis, Z.; Villagrasa, C.; Baldacchino, G.; Gueye, P.; Capra, R.; Nieminen, P.; Zacharatou, C. ^[1]; Via Niella 12, 17100 Savona ^[2]; ESA-ESTEC, 2200 AG Noordwijk ^[3]

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1. Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS/IN2P3, Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Bordeaux-Gradignan, CENBG, Chemin du Solarium, BP 120, 33175 Gradignan (France)
2. Italy
3. Netherlands

Purpose: The GEANT4 general-purpose Monte Carlo simulation toolkit is able to simulate physical interaction processes of electrons, hydrogen and helium atoms with charge states (H{sup 0}, H{sup +}) and (He{sup 0}, He{sup +}, He{sup 2+}), respectively, in liquid water, the main component of biological systems, down to the electron volt regime and the submicrometer scale, providing GEANT4 users with the so-called ''GEANT4-DNA'' physics models suitable for microdosimetry simulation applications. The corresponding software has been recently re-engineered in order to provide GEANT4 users with a coherent and unique approach to the simulation of electromagnetic interactions within the GEANT4 toolkit framework (since GEANT4 version 9.3 beta). This work presents a quantitative comparison of these physics models with a collection of experimental data in water collected from the literature. Methods: An evaluation of the closeness between the total and differential cross section models available in the GEANT4 toolkit for microdosimetry and experimental reference data is performed using a dedicated statistical toolkit that includes the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test. The authors used experimental data acquired in water vapor as direct measurements in the liquid phase are not yet available in the literature. Comparisons with several recommendations are also presented. Results: The authors have assessed the compatibility of experimental data with GEANT4 microdosimetry models by means of quantitative methods. The results show that microdosimetric measurements in liquid water are necessary to assess quantitatively the validity of the software implementation for the liquid water phase. Nevertheless, a comparison with existing experimental data in water vapor provides a qualitative appreciation of the plausibility of the simulation models. The existing reference data themselves should undergo a critical interpretation and selection, as some of the series exhibit significant deviations from each other. Conclusions: The GEANT4-DNA physics models available in the GEANT4 toolkit have been compared in this article to available experimental data in the water vapor phase as well as to several published recommendations on the mass stopping power. These models represent a first step in the extension of the GEANT4 Monte Carlo toolkit to the simulation of biological effects of ionizing radiation.

• OSTI ID: 22100585
• Journal Information: Medical Physics, Vol. 37, Issue 9; Other Information: (c) 2010 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DIFFERENTIAL CROSS SECTIONS
DNA
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTRONS
HELIUM
HELIUM IONS
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN IONS 1 PLUS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LIQUIDS
MICRODOSIMETRY
MONTE CARLO METHOD
RECOMMENDATIONS
WATER
WATER VAPOR