title: LET dependence of bubble detector response to heavy ions.
abstract: A series of experiments have been recently performed at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) laboratory to study the response of bubble detectors to high-mass high-energy (HZE) particles. The motivation for this study was to improve our ability to interpret measurements of neutron energy spectra in space. A recent analysis showed that emulsions of light halocarbons display common properties when they are characterised by a quantity called 'reduced superheat'. This quantity evolved from the examination of neutron and gamma responses of many types of detectors. In this study, we describe direct irradiations with N, Ar and Kr charged particles at HIMAC. It was observed that when the linear energy transfer (LET) corresponding to bubble formation was plotted vs. reduced superheat, different curves were obtained for a particular ion for detectors at different temperatures. Different curves were also obtained when data from different ions were plotted. These results confirm that bubble nucleation is not a simple function of particle LET and that an analysis based on track-structure appears warranted.
authors.affiliation: Bubble Technology Industries, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada K0J 1J0.
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Noulty
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ing
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: d'Errico
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: L G I
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020450:Heavy Ions; D018499:Linear Energy Transfer; D008422:Materials Testing; D045423:Microbubbles; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013499:Surface Properties; D013819:Thermoluminescent Dosimetry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods