Study of the energy spectrum of alpha particles in an experiment on irradiation of a boron target with a proton beam at the Prometheus accelerator

Abstract

The energy spectrum of alpha particles from the nuclear reaction p + ¹¹B $\to 3\alpha$ was studied using the beam of the injector of the proton synchrotron of the Prometheus proton therapy complex. The reaction products (alpha particles) were recorded using a CR-39 track detector. The detectors were calibrated using a ²⁴¹Am radioactive source. It was determined that mainly alpha particles emitted from the boron target have energies from 3 to 5.5 MeV. In this case, a significant part of the alpha particles emitted from the depths of the target have significantly lower energies compared to the calculated ones due to ionization losses. Measuring the energy spectrum of alpha particles from targets containing boron is of great scientific and practical interest for identifying the mechanisms of boron–proton capture therapy and determining the additional contribution to the therapeutic effect of proton irradiation.