Investigation on heavy-ion track structure in water using diffusion kinetic model simulation

Yamashita, Shinichi; Katsumura, Yosuke; Maeyama, Takuya*; Lin, M.; Muroya, Yusa*; Murakami, Takeshi*; Jay-Gerin, J.-P.*; Meesungnoen, J.*

Although water is a main component of human cells and its interaction with ionizing radiations are of crucial importance, understanding of water radiolysis with heavy ions of energies comparable to those used in actual cancer treatments is not sufficient. Recently, such highly energetic heavy ions are available at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Chiba, Japan. We have carried out measurements of primary yields of main water decomposition products, hydrated electron (e), hydroxyl radical (OH) and hydrogen peroxide (HO) with heavy ions from He to Fe of energies up to 28 GeV (corresponding LET varies from 2 to 700 keV/m) provided from the HIMAC. Note that primary yields are defined as the yields at 100 ns after irradiation, which can be regarded as a time scale when diffusions and intra-track reactions of initial products are almost terminated. Then, such yields are important because they inherently involve information of initial track structure and dynamics of water decomposition products during track expansion. In the present study, not only such measurements but also discussions based on the measured data were conducted by simulations.