title: Monte-Carlo calculations of particle fluences and neutron effective dose rates in the atmosphere.
abstract: Monitoring of radiation exposure of aircrew is a legal requirement for many airlines in the EU and a challenging task in dosimetry. Monte-Carlo simulations of cosmic particles in the atmosphere can contribute to the understanding of the corresponding radiation field. Calculations of secondary neutron fluences in the atmosphere produced by galactic cosmic rays together with the resulting neutron-effective dose rates are shown in this paper and compared with results from the AIR project. The PLANETOCOSMICS package based on GEANT4 and two models for the local interstellar spectra of galactic cosmic rays have been used for the calculations. Furthermore, secondary muon fluences have been computed and are compared with CAPRICE measurements.
authors.affiliation: German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Porz-Wahnheide, Linder Höhe, 51147 Köln, Germany. daniel.matthiae@dlr.de
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matthiä
authors.forename: Lembit
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sihver
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D000465:Algorithms; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D006371:Helium; D006801:Humans; D006859:Hydrogen; D008651:Mesons; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009502:Neutrons; D017785:Photons; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D006371:Helium; D006859:Hydrogen