Speaker
Description
The nucleon–nucleon interaction may lead to the creation of clusters, mainly α-particles, inside the nuclear medium. The investigation of nuclear clustering has been a long-standing area of study and different experiments have been conducted with a variety of α-conjugated nuclei, mainly at the Coulomb barrier and Fermi energy range (1-100 MeV). The FOOT experiment aims to investigate the occurrence of the alpha-clustering phenomena at intermediate energies, by measuring the fragmentation of 12C and 16O with energies typical of hadrontherapy (200-400 MeV/u), exploiting the formation of intermediate channels in the production of α particles (e.g.: 12C->8Be+α->3α). At this energy range, the clustering phenomena can have a impact on the multiplicity and energy distribution of nucleons and light fragments, leading to correction on the evaluation of the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) value adopted in clinical applications. FOOT consists of two different setups for the detection of heavy (Z≥3) and light (Z≤3) fragments: the former are detected by a high precision tracking system in magnetic field, a time of flight measurement system and a calorimeter, while the latter are measured by a separated emulsion cloud chamber detector. The methods and the expected results about the capability of the FOOT experiment to evaluate alpha-clustering phenomena in the fragmentation of 12C and 16O ion beams at 200 and 400 MeV/u will be presented.
