Speaker
Description
We are developing at the SIS18 synchrotron at GSI (Darmstadt, DE) a new Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) simulator to reproduce the space radiation environment on ground. The measurement and validation of the resulting radiation field is a major challenge due to its high complexity in terms of both particle population and broad energy distribution. One tool for studying mixed radiation fields, which is regaining importance over the last decade, is microdosimetry. Microdosimetry is particularly suitable for measuring highly mixed fields, producing microdosimetric spectra that span several orders of magnitude, ideal for highly heterogenic radiation fields. In addition, microdosimetric measurements provide an estimate of the radiation quality by collecting the energy deposition at the micrometer level, typical of cell dimensions, where energy deposition exhibits stochastic behavior, linking the biological effect more directly to its physical description.
To characterize the simulated GCR spectrum obtained at GSI with the new GCR simulator, several types of microdosimeters were used: silicon-based from the University of Wollongong (AUS), silicond-based from CERN (CH) and GSI's gas-based Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC).
In this talk, we will present the results obtained with the TEPC measurements of the 6 experimental setups required to recreate the GCR-like radiation. Furthermore, we will compare each of the 6 microdosimetric spectra with Monte Carlo simulations based on Geant4. Overall, it will be shown how microdosimetry is an essential tool to assess the extremely complex GCR-like radiation field experimentally produced at GSI.
This work is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Program, contract # ECR-4000102355-03 and is performed in the frame of FAIR-phase-0 at the at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt (Germany).
