Unraveling the Effects of Cluster Transfer-Induced Breakups on $^{12}$C Fragmentation in Hadron Therapy

TL;DR

This paper improves Geant4 simulations of $^{12}$C fragmentation in hadron therapy by integrating a breakup process, leading to more accurate dose distribution predictions aligned with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic integration of a breakup component into Geant4 PhysicsLists, modeled with fresco CDCC-CRC calculations, to better simulate $^{12}$C fragmentation.

Findings

Enhanced Geant4 models accurately reproduce experimental cross sections.

Improved dose distribution predictions at the Bragg peak.

Better visibility of dose tailing in tissue simulations.

Abstract

The capability of standard Geant4 PhysicsLists to address the fragmentation of $^{12}$C$-^{12}$C was assessed through a comparative analysis with experimental cross sections reported by Divay et al. and Dudouet et al. The standard PhysicsLists were found to be inadequate in explaining the fragmentation systematics. To address this limitation, the breakup component of fragmentation was systematically integrated into the standard PhysicsList, which successfully replicated the differential and double differential cross sections for $\alpha$ production. This breakup component was modeled using fresco CDCC-CRC calculations. This novel physics process was then incorporated into the Geant4 framework, facilitating the calculation of dose distributions in water and tissue. The application of this method demonstrated a precise reproduction of the dose deposited at the Bragg peak region, corroborating the experimental data from Liedner et al., thereby enhancing the accurate visibility of dose tailing.