A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium

The determination of energy loss of charged particles as they pass through a medium and consequently the calculation of their range within the medium are of tremendous importance in various areas of physics from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Previous works have derived approximate equ...

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Main Authors: Ioannis Psychogios, Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris, Anna Malamou, Andreas Stylianou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Atoms
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/13/5/38
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author Ioannis Psychogios
Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris
Anna Malamou
Andreas Stylianou
author_facet Ioannis Psychogios
Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris
Anna Malamou
Andreas Stylianou
author_sort Ioannis Psychogios
collection DOAJ
description The determination of energy loss of charged particles as they pass through a medium and consequently the calculation of their range within the medium are of tremendous importance in various areas of physics from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Previous works have derived approximate equations regarding the range of ions within a medium, focusing on providing simple solutions for practitioners in the radiotherapy field that do not require significant computational cost, unlike traditional Monte Carlo methods. These solutions focus on radiotherapy and are limited to specific ions’ initial speeds, which should be up to 0.65<i>c</i> (where <i>c</i> is the speed of light in vacuum). In this paper, solutions for significantly larger initial velocities are explored. A new analytical equation for determining the range of charged particles within a medium for initial velocities between 0.6<i>c</i> and 0.9<i>c</i> is presented. This equation provides excellent results when compared to the accurate numerical solution. Beyond its theoretical and mathematical interest, this solution is also reliable for radiotherapy applications. It provides excellent results for protons with initial energies between 200 MeV and 350 MeV and has the major advantage of being expressed in terms of elementary functions, making its use more straightforward compared to other approaches.
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spelling doaj-art-538e58b502eb4f91bbda0c256b2ce27e2025-08-20T02:33:38ZengMDPI AGAtoms2218-20042025-04-011353810.3390/atoms13050038A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a MediumIoannis Psychogios0Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris1Anna Malamou2Andreas Stylianou3Department of Engineering and Construction, Metropolitan College, 15125 Athens, GreeceCancer Mechanobiology and Applied Biophysics Group, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, CyprusSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9, Iroon Polytechniou St., 15780 Athens, GreeceCancer Mechanobiology and Applied Biophysics Group, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, CyprusThe determination of energy loss of charged particles as they pass through a medium and consequently the calculation of their range within the medium are of tremendous importance in various areas of physics from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Previous works have derived approximate equations regarding the range of ions within a medium, focusing on providing simple solutions for practitioners in the radiotherapy field that do not require significant computational cost, unlike traditional Monte Carlo methods. These solutions focus on radiotherapy and are limited to specific ions’ initial speeds, which should be up to 0.65<i>c</i> (where <i>c</i> is the speed of light in vacuum). In this paper, solutions for significantly larger initial velocities are explored. A new analytical equation for determining the range of charged particles within a medium for initial velocities between 0.6<i>c</i> and 0.9<i>c</i> is presented. This equation provides excellent results when compared to the accurate numerical solution. Beyond its theoretical and mathematical interest, this solution is also reliable for radiotherapy applications. It provides excellent results for protons with initial energies between 200 MeV and 350 MeV and has the major advantage of being expressed in terms of elementary functions, making its use more straightforward compared to other approaches.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/13/5/38Bethe equationnonlinear differential equationshigh energy physicsradiation-based therapiesrelativistic effectsmathematical modelling
spellingShingle Ioannis Psychogios
Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris
Anna Malamou
Andreas Stylianou
A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
Atoms
Bethe equation
nonlinear differential equations
high energy physics
radiation-based therapies
relativistic effects
mathematical modelling
title A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
title_full A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
title_fullStr A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
title_short A Novel Approach to Calculate the Range of High-Energy Charged Particles Within a Medium
title_sort novel approach to calculate the range of high energy charged particles within a medium
topic Bethe equation
nonlinear differential equations
high energy physics
radiation-based therapies
relativistic effects
mathematical modelling
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/13/5/38
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