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Nuclear fragmentation cross section measurements for a 400 MeV/nucleon O16 beam on polyethylene and hydrogen targets with the FOOT experiment

M. Dondi1,2,*, R. Ridolfi1,2, M. Toppi3,4, A. Mengarelli1, A. Alexandrov5, B. Alpat6, G. Ambrosi6, S. Argirò7,8, M. Barbanera6 et al. (FOOT Collaboration)

M. Barbanera6, N. Bartosik8,9, G. Battistoni10, V. Boccia11,5, G. Butella12, M. Caprai6, F. Cavanna8, P. Cerello8, E. Ciarrocchi13,14, N. D'Ambrosio15, G. De Lellis11,5, A. Di Crescenzo11,5, M. Donetti12, Y. Dong10, M. Durante11,16,17, R. Faccini18,4, V. Ferrero7,8, C. Finck19, E. Fiorina8, M. Francesconi5, M. Franchini1,2, G. Franciosini3,4, G. Galati20,21, L. Galli14, M. Ionica6, A. Iuliano5, K. Kanxheri6, B. Kharpuse8, A. C. Kraan14, A. Lauria11,5, E. Lopez Torres22,8, M. Magi3,4, A. Manna1,2, M. Marafini23,4, S. Masci15, M. Massa14, C. Massimi1,2, I. Mattei10, S. Mazzolani24,6, A. Mereghetti12, R. Mirabelli3,4, A. Moggi14, M. C. Montesi25,5, M. C. Morone26,27, M. Morrocchi13,14, S. Muraro10, N. Pastrone8, V. Patera3,4, F. Pennazio8, C. Pisanti1,2, P. Placidi6, M. Pullia12, F. Quattrini18,4, S. Rabaglia1, L. Ramello8,9, C. Reidel16, L. Sabatini28, L. Salvi6, C. Sanelli28, A. Sarti3,4, O. Sato29, S. Savazzi12, A. Schiavi3,4, C. Schuy16, E. Scifoni30, L. Servoli6, G. Silvestre6, M. Sitta9,8, B. Spadavecchia7,8, R. Spighi1,2, E. Spiriti28, L. Testa18,4,23, V. Tioukov5, S. Tomassini28, F. Tommasino31,30, G. Traini4, A. Trigilio28, G. Ubaldi1,2, S. Valentinetti1,2, M. Vanstalle19, U. Weber16, R. Zarrella1,2, A. Zoccoli1,2, and M. Villa1,2 (FOOT Collaboration)

  • 1INFN Section of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • 3Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 4INFN Section of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 5INFN Section of Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 6INFN Section of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
  • 7Department of Physics, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
  • 8INFN Section of Turin, Turin, Italy
  • 9Department of Science and Technological Innovation, University of Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy
  • 10INFN Section of Milan, Milan, Italy
  • 11Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University of Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 12CNAO, National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy, Pavia, Italy
  • 13Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • 14INFN Section of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • 15INFN Section of Gran Sasso National Laboratories, Assergi (L'Aquila), Italy
  • 16Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
  • 17Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
  • 18Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 19Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7871, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
  • 20Department of Physics, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 21INFN Section of Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 22CEADEN, Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear, Havana, Cuba
  • 23Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
  • 24Department of Physics, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
  • 25Department of Chemistry, University of Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 26Physics Department, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
  • 27INFN Section of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
  • 28INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati, Italy
  • 29Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  • 30Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (TIFPA-INFN), Trento, Italy
  • 31Physics Department, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

  • *Contact author: mdondi@bo.infn.it
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Phys. Rev. C 113, 064620 – Published 25 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/17nq-3ddt

Abstract

The measurement of fragmentation cross sections for nuclei up to Fe56 on light elements found in the human body (e.g., H, C, and O) is of fundamental importance for particle therapy (PT) and radioprotection in space (RPS), as well as for advancing cosmic-ray physics. These measurements can significantly improve the accuracy of dose calculations for patients during PT treatments and for astronauts exposed to cosmic radiation during deep-space missions. Among the many ions of interest, O16 is used in PT and is the most abundant species within the HZE component of cosmic rays. This paper presents the results of angular nuclear fragmentation cross sections for the production of He, Li, Be, B, C, and N nuclei in the interaction of a 400MeV/nucleon O16 beam with a hydrogen and polyethylene target. The fragmentation on the hydrogen was measured by combining the results on polyethylene with recent measurements on a graphite target. While the fragmentation on hydrogen is fundamental for improving nuclear interaction models, allowing more accurate predictions of dose distributions in PT and RPS, polyethylene has proven to be a promising shielding material in radiation protection models. The data analyzed were collected in 2021 at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research facility in Darmstadt (Germany) by the FOOT Collaboration. All results were compared with different Monte Carlo models for light ion fragmentation physics in the energy range of interest implemented in FLUKA and Geant4.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. C 113, 064620– Published 25 June, 2026
  • Received 17 February 2026
  • Revised 5 May 2026
  • Accepted 2 June 2026
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