Calculation of light nucleus reaction cross sections in Geant4

TL;DR

This paper evaluates and compares Geant4 simulation models for calculating reaction cross sections of light nuclei, highlighting the Shen model as a notable improvement at low energies near the Coulomb barrier.

Contribution

The study systematically assesses Geant4 models against experimental data for light nucleus reactions, identifying the Shen model as a superior approach at low energies.

Findings

Models vary significantly at low energies near the Coulomb barrier.

The Shen model outperforms other models in accuracy.

Geant4 can effectively simulate light nucleus reaction cross sections.

Abstract

Total reaction cross sections of light projectile nucleus (H-2, H-3, He-3 and He-4) interactions with nuclei are calculated using Geant4 models, and compared with experimental data. It is shown that the models give various predictions at low energies, in the region of the Coulomb barrier. "Shen model" (W.-Q. Shen et al., Nucl. Phys. {\bf A491} (1989) 130) is identified as an improvement over other models.