The Applications of Track Calculations to Radiobiology I. Monte Carlo Simulation of Proton Tracks

In the first of a series of papers on the application of track-structure calculations to radiobiology, a detailed Monte Carlo proton transport code in water vapor is described. In the code all important interaction types (elastic scattering, five levels of ionization, 12 types of excitation) are considered explicitly. All cross sections are based closely on experimental data. The proton energy range considered is 0.3-1.5 MeV since this is the range of available experimental ionization cross sections. Results are presented in terms of energy partitions, w values, stopping powers, and radial dose distributions, all showing agreement with the experiment.