Ready function to evaluate the dose distribution of the deep space radiation in human brains
Abstract
Health risks from space radiation are an important factor for astronauts' safety as they venture on long-duration missions to outer space toward the Moon or Mars. It is essential to assess the radiation level inside the human brain to evaluate the possible hazardous effects on the central nervous system, especially during solar energetic particle (SEP) events. Here, using a realistic model of the head/brain structure in Geant4, we have calculated the dose distribution expected in different parts of the brain and refer to these distributions as "Brain Response Functions" (BRFs). A BRF is a probabilistic description of all possible interactions that a particle with a defined type and energy may undergo when interacting with the human head and depositing energy in specific parts of the brain. Then, these BRFs have been used to calculate the dose rates in the human brain by folding them with different input spectra for galactic cosmic rays. Finally, we fold our BRFs with SEP spectra and find the pivot energy at which the SEP flux alone can be used to determine the radiation deposit in the human head. We present some ready-to-use functions, with which one can quickly calculate the SEP induced dose as a function of the fluence at the pivot energy for different lobes of the brain or human head for different shielding thicknesses. Such a novel tool can be used for fast nowcasting of the consequences of SEP events to optimization of shielding systems and other mitigation strategies for astronauts in space.
- Publication:
-
44th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 16-24 July
- Pub Date:
- July 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022cosp...44.2657K