Collaborative planning for ion physics activities

1
Collaborative planning for ion physics activities

• M.G. Pia et al.

Geant4 Workshop Bordeaux, 7-10 November 2005
2
A relatively new domain

• Not much attention devoted to ion interactions in
  Geant4 so far
• other priorities, not lack of interest
• we have the chance to do it right from the
  beginning, if we agree on a coherent plan of
  activities and we work at it collaboratively
• Needed in various application domains increasing
  interest
• high energy physics
• space science
• medical physics (hadrontherapy)
• What are the requirements from the various
  application domains?
• Sound requirements engineering would be desirable
• Requirements from different communities may
  partly overlap, but also exhibit peculiar
  experimental needs

3
Current status

• Let him who knows what is currently in Geant4
  cast the first stone
• Not only a hadronic physics issue
• Transparency and documentation to be improved in
  EM domain too
• Documenting what is actually available would
  already be a significant step forward
• documenting understanding the physics model,
  its assumptions, its parameters, its
  applicability limits, references in literature
  etc.
• Quantitative documentation of validation of
  existing physics models is the first step needed
• identify how good what we have is
• identify areas where improvements are needed
• evaluate is expectations for improvement are
  indeed realistic

4
Open questions

• Work still needed in the EM processes for ions
• Design iteration urgently needed to provide
  adequate precision both for hadrons and ions
• current critical situation due to uncontrolled
  design change w.r.t. original design

e.m. physics e.m. Binary ion set
Susannas talk at MC 2005
GCR a
The contribution of the hadronic interactions
looks negligible in the calculation of the energy
deposit
5
Build physics on solid ground

• It is a difficult physics domain
• Proliferation of physics models, parameters and
  variations on the theme is expected over a long
  time scale
• Sound design is mandatory
• Software development discipline facilitates
  transparency of physics
• Build testing into the physics process
  development itself

6
Vision

• Coordination with related projects
• Geant4-DNA
• Hadrontherapy physics biological effects of
  radiation
• Radiation protection
• see Susannas PhD thesis (Radiation protection in
  interplanetary manned missions)
• Radiation background at LHC
• Space science
• etc.

7
Scenario for Aurora
Geant4 macroscopic physics processes
biological processes at cellular level
Dose in organs at risk
Oncological risk to astronauts Risk of nervous
system damage
Phase space input to nano-simulation
Geant4 macroscopic processes DNA processes