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Angular differential and elemental fragmentation cross sections of a 400 MeV/nucleon O16 beam on a graphite target with the FOOT experiment

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

M. Barbanera6, N. Bartosik8, G. Battistoni9, M. G. Bisogni10,11, V. Boccia12,5, F. Cavanna8, P. Cerello8, E. Ciarrocchi10,11, A. De Gregorio13,4, G. De Lellis12,5, A. Di Crescenzo12,5, B. Di Ruzza14,15, M. Donetti16,8, Y. Dong9, M. Durante12,17, R. Faccini13,4, V. Ferrero8, C. Finck18, E. Fiorina8, M. Francesconi5, M. Franchini1,2, G. Franciosini3,4, G. Galati19,15, L. Galli11, M. Ionica6, A. Iuliano12,5, K. Kanxheri6,20, A. C. Kraan11, C. La Tessa21,22, A. Lauria12,5, E. Lopez Torres23,8, M. Magi3,4, A. Manna1,2, M. Marafini24,4, M. Massa11, C. Massimi1,2, I. Mattei9, A. Mereghetti16, T. Minniti25,26, A. Moggi11, M. C. Montesi5,27, M. C. Morone25,26, M. Morrocchi10,11, S. Muraro9, N. Pastrone8, V. Patera3,4, F. Peverini6,20, F. Pennazio8, C. Pisanti1,2, P. Placidi6,28, M. Pullia16, L. Ramello8,29, C. Reidel17, L. Sabatini30, L. Salvi6,20, C. Sanelli30, A. Sarti3,4, O. Sato31, S. Savazzi16, L. Scavarda32, A. Schiavi3,4, C. Schuy17, E. Scifoni22, L. Servoli6, G. Silvestre6, M. Sitta8,33, R. Spighi1, E. Spiriti30, L. Testa4,13, V. Tioukov5, S. Tomassini30, F. Tommasino34,22, A. Trigilio30, G. Traini4, G. Ubaldi1,2, S. Valentinetti1,2, A. Valetti7,8, M. Vanstalle18, U. Weber17, 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 Scienze di Base e Applicate per l'Ingegneria (SBAI), University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
  • 4INFN Section of Roma 1, 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 Torino, Torino, Italy
  • 9INFN Section of Milano, Milano, Italy
  • 10Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • 11INFN Section of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • 12Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University of Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 13Department of Physics, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
  • 14DAFNE - Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
  • 15INFN Section of Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 16CNAO Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica, Pavia, Italy
  • 17Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
  • 18Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7871, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
  • 19Department of Physics, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 20Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
  • 21Radiation Oncology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
  • 22Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (TIFPA-INFN), Trento, Italy
  • 23CEADEN, Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear, Havana, Cuba
  • 24Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
  • 25Department of Physics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
  • 26INFN Section of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
  • 27Department of Chemistry, University of Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 28Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
  • 29Department for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Piemonte Orientale, Vercelli, Italy
  • 30INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati, Italy
  • 31Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  • 32ALTEC, Aerospace Logistic Technology Engineering Company, Corso Marche 79, 10146 Torino, Italy
  • 33Department of Science and Technological Innovation, University of Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy
  • 34Department of Physics, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

  • *Contact author: riccardo.ridolfi@bo.infn.it
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Phys. Rev. C 112, 014610 – Published 2 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nmw9-ldrm

Abstract

This paper presents the measurements of the angular differential cross sections for the forward production of He, Li, Be, B, C, and N nuclei in the fragmentation process of a 400MeV/nucleonO16 beam interacting with a graphite target. Due to the limited data available in this energy regime, these measurements of nuclear fragmentation cross sections are relevant to improve nuclear interaction models for particle therapy and space radioprotection applications. The data analyzed in this paper were collected during a measurement campaign carried out at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research facility in Darmstadt (Germany) by the FOOT Collaboration. The results are compared with similar results found in the literature and with a previous FOOT measurement of the same process, using the same setup, from a previous pilot run performed at GSI. The pilot run data, however, had limited statistics and only allowed for the measurement of elemental fragmentation cross sections integrated in the setup acceptance. This data set, with statistics more than 100 times larger compared to the data collected in the previous run, enabled the measurement of angular differential cross sections, fully exploiting the granularity of the FOOT ΔE-TOF (time-of-flight) system. Furthermore, a better comprehension of the FOOT apparatus allowed to improve the analysis techniques, leading to a reduction in the final systematic uncertainties. The cross section results have been compared with some of the prominent Monte Carlo models of FLUKA and Geant4 dedicated to the energy range of interest for light ion fragmentation physics.

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Phys. Rev. C 112, 014610– Published 2 July, 2025
  • Received 31 December 2024
  • Revised 6 May 2025
  • Accepted 6 June 2025
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