Analytical approach to the reaction cross section of the fusion of protons with boron isotopes aimed at cancer therapy

GESER, F. A.; VALENTE, M.

Pucón

Congreso; 6tas Jornadas de Física Médica en la Frontera; 2018

Universidad de La Frontera

In recent times, the nuclear reaction known as ?proton-boron fusion? became of great interest to different areas of physics, particularly in medical physics. This reaction products consist mainly of three alpha particles with energies around 3-4 MeV that could be potentially used to improve protontherapy as a consequence of their high linear energy transfer (LET) [1]. Also, a monoenergetic prompt-gamma photon of 718 keV might be emitted from the reaction spot, adding the possibility of an online and in-situ monitoring of the irradiation process [2].In this work, an analytical approach to the reaction cross section has been proposed, for the first step of the sequential decay, corresponding to an excited state of the Beryllium nuclei, taking into account the continuum and resonant parts into one single curve for protons up to 10 MeV, and showing the intermediate calculations of the coulomb wave-functions and the penetration factors that are solutions of the Schrödinger?s equation, adding the contributions of the l=0 and l=1 orbital angular momentum of the entrance channel of the reaction. Obtained results are in very good agreement with available nuclear databases. Once cross section was assessed, its value might be used to estimate dosimetry enhancement during typical protontherapy.[1] Yoon, D.K. et.al. ?Application of proton boron fusion reaction to radiation therapy: A Monte Carlo simulation study? Applied Physics Letters, 2014[2] Shin, H.B. et. al. ?Prompt gamma ray imaging for verification of proton boron fusion therapy: A Monte Carlo study? Physica Medica, 2016