Extension of the Li\`ege Intranuclear-Cascade model to reactions induced by light nuclei

TL;DR

This paper extends the Liège Intranuclear Cascade model to light-ion reactions, introduces a new C++ version compatible with Geant4, and demonstrates its validity against experimental data for simulating such nuclear reactions.

Contribution

The paper presents a new extension of the Liège Intranuclear Cascade model for light nuclei and a C++ implementation integrated into Geant4, enabling improved simulations.

Findings

Model predictions agree with experimental data for various observables.

The C++ version is physics-wise equivalent to the legacy code.

The model is a competitive alternative for light-ion reaction simulations.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we present the extension of the Li\`ege Intranuclear Cascade model to reactions induced by light ions. Second, we describe the C++ version of the code, which it is physics-wise equivalent to the legacy version, is available in Geant4 and will serve as the basis for all future development of the model. We describe the ideas upon which we built our treatment of nucleus-nucleus reactions and we compare the model predictions against a vast set of heterogeneous experimental data. In spite of the discussed limitations of the intranuclear-cascade scheme, we find that our model yields valid predictions for a number of observables and positions itself as one of the most attractive alternatives available to Geant4 users for the simulation of light-ion-induced reactions.