Calculations of particle and heavy ion interactions with space shielding materials using the SHIELD-HIT transport code

摘要

Spectra of secondary particles produced by nucleus-nucleus interactions and heavy-ion interactions in the extended targets of interest for space research were calculated using the Monte Carlo code SHIELD-HIT. This code simulates the interactions of hadrons and atomic nuclei of arbitrary charge and mass number (Z, A) with complex extended targets in a wide energy range, from 10 GeV/u down to 1 MeV/u, and to thermal energies in the case of neutrons. Inelastic nuclear reactions in SHIELD-HIT are simulated using the Russian models of nuclear reactions. The total reaction cross sections evaluated by these models are discussed for proton and carbon interactions with different nuclei in a wide energy range. Production of secondary neutrons and charged secondary particles from the thick targets of lead, water and PMMA irradiated by He-4, C-12 and Si-28 ions of different energies was calculated and compared with the experimental data. The results obtained by SHIELD-HIT are in reasonable agreement with experiments and are promising for further applications in space research. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.