SuperCDMS is the next generation of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment (CDMS), aimed at the detection of the Weakly Interacting dark matter Particles (WIMPs) with the use of phonon and ionization signals in germanium detectors operated at about 40 mK. The current experiment is operating in the Soudan underground laboratory in northern Minnesota. However, due to limitation of cosmic ray muons, in the next stage of SuperCDMS, the whole experiment will be moved to a deeper site at SNOLAB. This could reduce the influence of extraterrestrial high energy particles to a negligible level, leaving the natural radioactivity locally existing in the laboratory wall rock as the dominating background source. Along with this relocation, newly designed detectors will be implemented to further increase the sensitivity. The prototype of this kind of detector has been manufactured, but it needs to be carefully tested prior to its formal application. To thoroughly examine its performance, especially in an environment that is less affected by cosmic rays, a new detector testing facility is to be built underground at SNOLAB (STF) surrounded by a water tank serving as the passive shield against the natural radioactivity. A series of Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to investigate the effectiveness of the water tank shield, the background level and also the energy spectra of events in the detectors. The goal of 1 neutron/day and 1 Hz of gammas for external sources can be achieved. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2011-02-01 10:31:34.688

Neste trabalho avaliamos a possibilidade de aplicar técnicas de simulação utilizando o método de Monte Carlo em dosimetria de fótons na monitoração individual externa. Para isso, simulamos experimentos com monitores de radiação contendo detectores termoluminescentes, TLD-100 e CaF2:NaCl, empregando a ferramenta computacional GEANT4. Começamos desenvolvendo um método de simulação de feixes de radiação produzidos pela incidência de elétrons em um alvo de tungstênio e filtragem pela janela de berílio e filtros adicionais para obter a radiação de qualidade desejada. Este processo, usado para simular campos de radiação de um tubo de raios X, foi validado através da comparação de características dos espectros simulados com valores de referência estabelecidos em normas internacionais, sendo estas características a camada semi-redutora, também medida experimentalmente, a energia média e a resolução espectral. Na simulação dos monitores termoluminescentes foram introduzidas aproximações na modelagem do detector para possibilitar a comparação entre os resultados experimentais e teóricos. Uma delas foi na densidade do detector de CaF2:NaCl, acrescentando 6% de ar na sua composição, tendo em vista a diferença entre o valor calculado e o obtido através de medidas. Foi também introduzida a aproximação referente à auto-atenuação de luz no detector de CaF2:NaCl no processo de leitura, empregando o coeficiente de atenuação de luz de 2,20(25) mm-1. Determinamos os coeficientes de conversão cp, do kerma no ar para o equivalente de dose pessoal, em simuladores de paralelepípedo de polimetil metacrilato (PMMA) com água, irradiados com feixes de radiação X com espectro estreito e largo, recomendados em normas [ISO 4037-1], e com os feixes implantados no Laboratório de Dosimetria. Verificamos que a intensidade de radiação retro-espalhada por este simulador é similar àquela do simulador de paralelepípedo sólido de tecido-equivalente ICRU. Na prática, isto torna o simulador de PMMA repleto de água, que além de ser barato é fácil de construir, um bom substituto para o simulador ICRU. Uma análise detalhada dos resultados obtidos mostrou que a utilização da grandeza kerma no meio na avaliação dos coeficientes de conversão cp para profundidades da ordem ou menores que 0,07 mm não é boa para feixes de fótons com energia no intervalo de 200 a 1250 keV. Nesta região, deve-se calcular o coeficiente de conversão empregando a dose absorvida. Concluise que o GEANT4 é uma ferramenta adequada não só para simular os monitores termoluminescentes e os procedimentos empregados na rotina do Laboratório de Dosimetria, mas para auxiliar na interpretação de todos os resultados experimentais obtidos na monitoração individual externa, nem sempre previstos. / In this work, we have evaluated the possibility of applying the Monte Carlo simulation technique in photon dosimetry of external individual monitoring. The GEANT4 toolkit was employed to simulate experiments with radiation monitors containing TLD-100 and CaF2:NaCl thermoluminescent detectors. As a first step, X ray spectra were generated impinging electrons on a tungsten target. Then, the produced photon beam was filtered in a beryllium window and additional filters to obtain the radiation with desired qualities. This procedure, used to simulate radiation fields produced by a X ray tube, was validated by comparing characteristics such as half value layer, which was also experimentally measured, mean photon energy and the spectral resolution of simulated spectra with that of reference spectra established by international standards. In the construction of thermoluminescent dosimeter, two approaches for improvements have been introduced. The first one was the inclusion of 6% of air in the composition of the CaF2:NaCl detector due to the difference between measured and calculated values of its density. Also, comparison between simulated and experimental results showed that the self-attenuation of emitted light in the readout process of the fluorite dosimeter must be taken into account. Then, in the second approach, the light attenuation coefficient of CaF2:NaCl compound estimated by simulation to be 2,20(25) mm-1 was introduced. Conversion coefficients cp from air kerma to personal dose equivalent were calculated using a slab water phantom with polimethyl-metacrilate (PMMA) walls, for reference narrow and wide X ray spectrum series [ISO 4037-1], and also for the wide spectra implanted and used in routine at Laboratório de Dosimetria. Simulations of backscattered radiations by PMMA slab water phantom and slab phantom of ICRU tissue-equivalent material produced very similar results. Therefore, the PMMA slab water phantom that can be easily constructed with low price can be considered a convenient practical alternative to substitute the tissue-equivalent slab. Conversion coefficients from air kerma to personal dose equivalent obtained were compared with published data. It was found that the quantity kerma in the medium commonly used for the evaluation of conversion coefficients at depths of the order or less than 0,07 mm does not provide good results for monoenergetic photon beams with energy between 200 to 1250 keV. In this range, it is necessary to consider the absorbed dose quantity. We conclude that the GEANT4 is a suitable toolkit not only to simulate thermoluminescent dosimeters and experimental procedures employed in the routine of a dosimetry laboratory, but also to shed light upon all the experimental results obtained in external individual monitoring that are not always expected.

Neste trabalho avaliamos a possibilidade de aplicar técnicas de simulação utilizando o método de Monte Carlo em dosimetria de fótons na monitoração individual externa. Para isso, simulamos experimentos com monitores de radiação contendo detectores termoluminescentes, TLD-100 e CaF2:NaCl, empregando a ferramenta computacional GEANT4. Começamos desenvolvendo um método de simulação de feixes de radiação produzidos pela incidência de elétrons em um alvo de tungstênio e filtragem pela janela de berílio e filtros adicionais para obter a radiação de qualidade desejada. Este processo, usado para simular campos de radiação de um tubo de raios X, foi validado através da comparação de características dos espectros simulados com valores de referência estabelecidos em normas internacionais, sendo estas características a camada semi-redutora, também medida experimentalmente, a energia média e a resolução espectral. Na simulação dos monitores termoluminescentes foram introduzidas aproximações na modelagem do detector para possibilitar a comparação entre os resultados experimentais e teóricos. Uma delas foi na densidade do detector de CaF2:NaCl, acrescentando 6% de ar na sua composição, tendo em vista a diferença entre o valor calculado e o obtido através de medidas. Foi também introduzida a aproximação referente à auto-atenuação de luz no detector de CaF2:NaCl no processo de leitura, empregando o coeficiente de atenuação de luz de 2,20(25) mm-1. Determinamos os coeficientes de conversão cp, do kerma no ar para o equivalente de dose pessoal, em simuladores de paralelepípedo de polimetil metacrilato (PMMA) com água, irradiados com feixes de radiação X com espectro estreito e largo, recomendados em normas [ISO 4037-1], e com os feixes implantados no Laboratório de Dosimetria. Verificamos que a intensidade de radiação retro-espalhada por este simulador é similar àquela do simulador de paralelepípedo sólido de tecido-equivalente ICRU. Na prática, isto torna o simulador de PMMA repleto de água, que além de ser barato é fácil de construir, um bom substituto para o simulador ICRU. Uma análise detalhada dos resultados obtidos mostrou que a utilização da grandeza kerma no meio na avaliação dos coeficientes de conversão cp para profundidades da ordem ou menores que 0,07 mm não é boa para feixes de fótons com energia no intervalo de 200 a 1250 keV. Nesta região, deve-se calcular o coeficiente de conversão empregando a dose absorvida. Concluise que o GEANT4 é uma ferramenta adequada não só para simular os monitores termoluminescentes e os procedimentos empregados na rotina do Laboratório de Dosimetria, mas para auxiliar na interpretação de todos os resultados experimentais obtidos na monitoração individual externa, nem sempre previstos. / In this work, we have evaluated the possibility of applying the Monte Carlo simulation technique in photon dosimetry of external individual monitoring. The GEANT4 toolkit was employed to simulate experiments with radiation monitors containing TLD-100 and CaF2:NaCl thermoluminescent detectors. As a first step, X ray spectra were generated impinging electrons on a tungsten target. Then, the produced photon beam was filtered in a beryllium window and additional filters to obtain the radiation with desired qualities. This procedure, used to simulate radiation fields produced by a X ray tube, was validated by comparing characteristics such as half value layer, which was also experimentally measured, mean photon energy and the spectral resolution of simulated spectra with that of reference spectra established by international standards. In the construction of thermoluminescent dosimeter, two approaches for improvements have been introduced. The first one was the inclusion of 6% of air in the composition of the CaF2:NaCl detector due to the difference between measured and calculated values of its density. Also, comparison between simulated and experimental results showed that the self-attenuation of emitted light in the readout process of the fluorite dosimeter must be taken into account. Then, in the second approach, the light attenuation coefficient of CaF2:NaCl compound estimated by simulation to be 2,20(25) mm-1 was introduced. Conversion coefficients cp from air kerma to personal dose equivalent were calculated using a slab water phantom with polimethyl-metacrilate (PMMA) walls, for reference narrow and wide X ray spectrum series [ISO 4037-1], and also for the wide spectra implanted and used in routine at Laboratório de Dosimetria. Simulations of backscattered radiations by PMMA slab water phantom and slab phantom of ICRU tissue-equivalent material produced very similar results. Therefore, the PMMA slab water phantom that can be easily constructed with low price can be considered a convenient practical alternative to substitute the tissue-equivalent slab. Conversion coefficients from air kerma to personal dose equivalent obtained were compared with published data. It was found that the quantity kerma in the medium commonly used for the evaluation of conversion coefficients at depths of the order or less than 0,07 mm does not provide good results for monoenergetic photon beams with energy between 200 to 1250 keV. In this range, it is necessary to consider the absorbed dose quantity. We conclude that the GEANT4 is a suitable toolkit not only to simulate thermoluminescent dosimeters and experimental procedures employed in the routine of a dosimetry laboratory, but also to shed light upon all the experimental results obtained in external individual monitoring that are not always expected.

This thesis presents an analysis of the radiation environment on board the Russian section of the International Space Station (ISS) using data from the SilEye-3/Alteino experiment. As part of the analysis the efficiency and response of the SilEye-3/Alteino detector was studied. The relative nuclear abundance is generally in agreement with expected results. The presence of odd Z nuclei is significantly increased when compared with measurements outside the ISS. However, in ISS-y (Starboard-Ports) and z (Nadir-Zenith) directions an underabundance of carbon and oxygen nuclei is seen, whereasin x (Forward-Aft) there seemes to be an overabundance. One possible explanation is the absence of high-Z material in the ISS module wall for y and z . Whereas in x, most of the main body of the ISS is in front of the detector and the amount of high-Z material (i.e. aluminium) is large. The nalysis of fragmentation of iron into a range of secondary nuclei (15≤Z ≤25) indicates an aluminium hull equivalent thickness of 8-9 cm in y- and z-directions. For x the aluminium hull equivalence amounts to about 17 cm. Flux, LET, dose and dose equivalent rates present a clear anisotropy in the different orthogonal directions of the ISS, with rates consistently lower in x. This effect is more pronounced for the heavy-ion component (LET &gt;50 keV/μm). Measureddose rates vary from 25 μGy/day to 75 μGy/day, depending on location, orientationand configuration of the detector. The dose equivalent varies from 50 μSv/day toalmost 470 μSv/day.The shielding effect of the polyethylene amounts to 25-37% dependent on loca-tion and orientation inside the ISS. The majority of the reduction occurs duringpassages through the SAA. A Geant4 comparison with the Phits simulations code have been preformed as an initial survey into the treatment of hadronic physics for heavy ions in Geant4. / <p>QC 20140521</p>

Monte Carlo method has been successfully applied in simulating the particles transport problems. Most of the Monte Carlo simulation tools are static and they can only be used to perform the static simulations for the problems with fixed physics and geometry settings. Proton therapy is a dynamic treatment technique in the clinical application. In this research, we developed a method to perform the dynamic Monte Carlo simulation of proton therapy using Geant4 simulation toolkit. A passive-scattering treatment nozzle equipped with a rotating range modulation wheel was modeled in this research. One important application of the Monte Carlo simulation is to predict the spatial dose distribution in the target geometry. For simplification, a mathematical model of a human body is usually used as the target, but only the average dose over the whole organ or tissue can be obtained rather than the accurate spatial dose distribution. In this research, we developed a method using MATLAB to convert the medical images of a patient from CT scanning into the patient voxel geometry. Hence, if the patient voxel geometry is used as the target in the Monte Carlo simulation, the accurate spatial dose distribution in the target can be obtained. A data analysis tool?root was used to score the simulation results during a Geant4 simulation and to analyze the data and plot results after simulation. Finally, we successfully obtained the accurate spatial dose distribution in part of a human body after treating a patient with prostate cancer using proton therapy.

The objectives of this thesis were the validation of G4STORK to use it for the investigation of the SCWR lattice cell. MCNP6 was chosen as the program that the methodology of G4STORK would be validated against. Over multiple steps, the methodology of G4STORK was matched to that of MCNP6 (described here, 3.4). After each step, the output of the two programs were compared, allowing us to pinpoint why and where discrepancies came about. At the end of this process, we were able to show that when G4STORK used the same assumptions as MCNP6, it produced similar results (shown here, 4.1.4). The results of G4STORK simulating the SCWR lattice cell, using its more accurate default methodology, was then compared to those of MCNP6 (shown here, 4.2.1). Large differences in the results were seen to occur, because of the inaccurate assumptions used by MCNP6, during transient cases. We concluded that despite the existence of minor discrepancies between the results of MCNP and G4STORK for some cases, G4STORK is still the theoretically more accurate method for simulating lattice cell cases such as these, due to MCNP’s use of the generational method. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Les méthodes de simulation Monte-Carlo s’étendent avec succès à différents domaines de la physique médicale mais aussi à différentes échelles, par exemple de la planification des traitements de radiothérapie jusqu’à une prévision des effets des rayonnements au niveau des cellules cancéreuses. La plateforme de simulation Monte-Carlo GATE, basée sur l’outil Geant4, propose des fonctionnalités dédiées aux simulations en physique médicale (médecine nucléaire et radiothérapie). Pour les applications en radiobiologie, les modèles physiques Geant4-DNA implémentés jusqu’à très basse énergie (eV) permettent d’estimer des quantités micro-dosimétriques d’intérêt. Dans le but d’implémenter une plateforme de simulation Monte-Carlo multi-échelles, nous nous sommes d’abord intéressés à la validation des modèles physiques de Geant4-DNA, puis à leur intégration dans la plateforme de simulation GATE et enfin à une validation de cette implémentation dans un contexte de radiothérapie et protonthérapie. De manière à valider les modèles physiques de Geant4-DNA, des points kernels de dose en électrons mono-énergétiques (de 10 keV à 100 keV) ont été simulés en utilisant les modèles physiques de Geant4 et de Geant4-DNA et ils ont comparés au code Monte-Carlo EGSnrc. Les parcours et pouvoirs d’arrêts des électrons (de 7,4 eV à 1 MeV) et des protons (de 1 keV à 100 MeV) calculés avec Geant4-DNA (processus et modèles préalablement intégrés dans GATE) ont ensuite été validés. Nous avons alors proposé de simuler avec la plateforme GATE l’impact de faisceaux cliniques et pré-cliniques sur l’ADN cellulaire. Nous avons ainsi modélisé un faisceau de protonthérapie de 193,1 MeV, un accélérateur linéaire en mode électrons de 6 MeV et un irradiateur RX de 250 kV. Ces simulations ont d’abord été validées en milieu aqueux par une comparaison de la dose macroscopique avec des mesures expérimentales. Les faisceaux ont ensuite été utilisés pour calculer, pour chacun d’entre eux, les fréquences de dépôts d’énergie à l’ADN. La molécule d’ADN a été simulée tout d’abord grâce à des cylindres équivalents en dimension à 10 paires de base (2 nm x 2 nm), équivalents à la taille d’un nucléosome (10 nm x 5 nm) et équivalents à la taille d’une fibre de chromatine (25 nm x 25 nm). Tous ces cylindres ont été placés aléatoirement dans un volume d’eau liquide (de rayon 500 nm). Nous avons ensuite reconstruit la molécule d’ADN dans Geant4 à partir de la lecture de fichiers PDB (Protein Data Bank) représentant douze paires de base de la molécule d’ADN et un dinucléosome (347 paires de base). Enfin, nous avons développé un outil permettant de corréler les positions de dépôts d’énergie directs dans l’eau liquide avec les coordonnées des paires de base de l’ADN, afin de calculer les nombres de cassures simple et double brin de l’ADN. Tous les calculs réalisés au cours de ce travail, ont été déployés sur l’Infrastructure de Grille Européenne ; des tests de performance sont proposés pour mesurer l’intérêt de ce type d’architecture pour les calculs Monte-Carlo. / The Monte Carlo simulation methods are successfully being used in various areas of medical physics but also at different scales, for example, from the radiation therapy treatment planning systems to the prediction of the effects of radiation in cancer cells. The Monte Carlo simulation platform GATE based on the Geant4 toolkit offers features dedicated to simulations in medical physics (nuclear medicine and radiotherapy). For radiobiology applications, the Geant4-DNA physical models are implemented to track particles till very low energy (eV) and are adapted for estimation of micro-dosimetric quantities. In order to implement a multi-scale Monte Carlo platform, we first validated the physical models of Geant4-DNA, and integrated them into GATE. Finally, we validated this implementation in the context of radiation therapy and proton therapy. In order to validate the Geant4-DNA physical models, dose point kernels for monoenergetic electrons (10 keV to 100 keV) were simulated using the physical models of Geant4-DNA and were compared to those simulated with Geant4 Standard physical models and another Monte Carlo code EGSnrc. The range and the stopping powers of electrons (7.4 eV to 1 MeV) and protons (1 keV to 100 MeV) calculated with GATE/Geant4-DNA were then compared with literature. We proposed to simulate with the GATE platform the impact of clinical and preclinical beams on cellular DNA. We modeled a clinical proton beam of 193.1 MeV, 6 MeV clinical electron beam and a X-ray irradiator beam. The beams models were validated by comparing absorbed dose computed and measured in liquid water. Then, the beams were used to calculate the frequency of energy deposits in DNA represented by different geometries. First, the DNA molecule was represented by small cylinders : 2 nm x 2 nm ( 10 bp), 5 nm x 10 nm ( nucleosome) and 25 nm x 25 nm ( chromatin fiber). All these cylinders were placed randomly in a sphere of liquid water (500 nm radius). Then we reconstructed the DNA molecule in Geant4 by reading PDB (Protein Data Bank) files representing twelve base pairs of the DNA molecule and a dinucleosome (347 base pairs). Finally, we developed a tool to correlate the positions of direct energy deposit in liquid water with the coordinates of the base pairs of DNA to calculate the number of single and double strand breaks in DNA. All calculations in this work were perfomed on the European Grid Infrastructure; performance tests are available to estimate the utility of this type of architecture for Monte Carlo calculations.

Since 1950's there has been a growing interest of understanding the effects of cosmic ray radiation on the increase in average global temperature. Recent studies showed that galactic cosmic rays play a significant role in the formation of low cloud coverage and its consequent impact on the global temperature variation of the earth. A long-term measurement of the cosmic ray flux distribution at the surface of the earth has been established at Georgia State University. The current effort is focused on understanding the correlations between the cosmic ray particle flux distribution and the atmospheric and space weather measurements. In order to understand the observed atmospheric effects on cosmic ray flux, numerical simulations of cosmic muon and neutron flux variations at the surface of the earth have been carried out with varying air densities in the troposphere and stratosphere based on the Geant4 package. The simulation results show a remarkably good agreement with observations. The simulation results also show that the stratosphere air density variation dominates the effects on the muon flux changes while the density variation in the troposphere mainly influences the neutron count variation. This suggests that the long-term variation of muon flux could possibly direct us to a new path to understand the global climate warming trend.

Dose as a result of radiation exposure is the notion generally used to disclose the imparted energy in a volume of tissue to a potential biological effect. The basic unit defined by the international system of units (SI system) is the radiation absorbed dose, which is expressed as the mean imparted energy in a mass element of the tissue known as "gray" (Gy) or J/kg. The procedure for ascertaining the absorbed dose is complicated since it involves the radiation transport of numerous types of charged particles and coupled photon interactions. The most precise method is to perform a full 3D Monte Carlo simulation of the radiation transport. There are various Monte Carlo toolkits that have tool compartments for dose calculations and measurements. The dose studies in this thesis were performed using the GEANT4 Application for Emission Tomography (GATE) software (Janet al., 2011) GATE simulation toolkit has been used extensively in the medical imaging community, due to the fact that it uses the full capabilities of GEANT4. It also utilizes an easy to-learn GATE macro language, which is more accessible than learning the GEANT4/C++ programming language. This work combines GATE with digital phantoms generated using the NCAT (NURBS-based cardiac-torso phantom) toolkit (Segars et al., 2004) to allow efficient and effective estimation of 3D radiation dose maps. The GATE simulation tool has developed into a beneficial tool for Monte Carlo simulations involving both radiotherapy and imaging experiments. This work will present an overview of absorbed dose of common radionuclides used in nuclear medicine and serve as a guide to a user who is setting up a GATE simulation for a PET and SPECT study.

Ce travail de thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une recherche fondamentale visant à améliorer la compréhension des mécanismes d'interaction des rayonnements ionisants avec la matière biologique en s’intéressant à la prédiction par simulations numériques des dommages précoces radio-induits à l’ADN. Dans un premier temps, une étude sur le rôle des différents niveaux de compaction de la chromatine (hétérochromatine et euchromatine) dans l’induction de ces premiers effets, à savoir les cassures de brins de l’ADN, est proposée. De nouveaux modèles géométriques réalistes de noyaux cellulaires intégrant la compaction de la chromatine ont donc été créés et utilisés dans une chaîne de calcul, basée sur le code Monte Carlo ouvert et généraliste Geant4 et son extension Geant4-DNA, permettant de simuler les étapes physique, physico-chimique et chimique menant aux cassures de brin. Les développements effectués dans cette thèse ont également permis d’étudier l’impact de plusieurs types de rayonnement (protons, alphas, photons) sur les dommages radio-induits. Les différents résultats ont été confrontés à des données expérimentales et en particulier à celles obtenues par l’équipe de radiobiologistes de l’IRSN. Enfin, une étude portant sur les effets plus tardifs comme la réparation de l’ADN et la mort cellulaire a été réalisée par l’utilisation conjointe de la chaîne de calcul et de certains modèles paramétriques issus de la littérature. Ainsi, les résultats obtenus dans cette thèse ont permis d’acquérir de nouvelles connaissances et de développer des outils de calcul qui seront bientôt disponibles en accès libre à la communauté scientifique afin de prédire des effets biologiques de plusieurs types de rayonnement dans la perspective d’améliorer les modèles de risque. / This thesis work is part of a fundamental research aimed at improving the understanding of the mechanisms of interaction of ionizing radiation with biological matter by focusing on the prediction of early radiation-induced DNA damage by numerical simulations. As a first step, a study on the role of the different levels of chromatin compaction (heterochromatin and euchromatin) in the induction of these early effects, namely DNA strand breaks, is proposed. New realistic geometric models of cell nuclei integrating chromatin compaction have therefore been created and used in a calculation chain, based on the open source and general purpose Monte Carlo code Geant4 and its extension Geant4-DNA, to simulate the physical, physico-chemical and chemical stages leading to strand breaks. Developments in this thesis have also allowed studying the impact of several types of radiation (protons, alphas, photons) on radiation-induced damage. The various results were compared with experimental data and in particular those obtained by the IRSN team of radiobiologists. Finally, a study on later effects such as DNA repair and cell death was carried out using both the calculation chain and some parametric models from the literature. Thus, the results obtained in this thesis have made it possible to acquire new knowledge and to develop calculation tools that will soon be delivered in free access to the scientific community in order to predict the biological effects of several types of radiation with the aim of improving risk models.