Calculations of particle and heavy ion interactions with space shielding materials using the SHIELD-HIT transport code

Spectra of secondary particles produced by nucleus–nucleus interactions and heavy-ion interactions in the extended targets of interest for space research were calculated using the Monte Carlo code SHIELD-HIT. This code simulates the interactions of hadrons and atomic nuclei of arbitrary charge and mass number (Z,A)(Z,A) with complex extended targets in a wide energy range, from 10 GeV/u down to 1 MeV/u, and to thermal energies in the case of neutrons. Inelastic nuclear reactions in SHIELD-HIT are simulated using the Russian models of nuclear reactions. The total reaction cross sections evaluated by these models are discussed for proton and carbon interactions with different nuclei in a wide energy range. Production of secondary neutrons and charged secondary particles from the thick targets of lead, water and PMMA irradiated by 4He, 12C and 28Si ions of different energies was calculated and compared with the experimental data. The results obtained by SHIELD-HIT are in reasonable agreement with experiments and are promising for further applications in space research.