Theoretical cross-sections of deuteron-induced reaction on natural chromium by EMPIRE code for the production of ⁵²Mn, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵¹Cr and ⁴⁸V

Abstract

Manganese-52 ground (^52gMn) is a positron emitter and its beneficial properties make it a strong candidate for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Furthermore, the PET isotope ^52gMn has been proposed as a suitable candidate for combination with proteins and antibodies. Moreover, Mn²⁺ has a paramagnetic property, thus the Mn isotope is ideal for use in bimodal PET/magnetic resonance (MR) images as a traceable nuclide, that can provide anatomical, molecular and physiological information of tissues. In this work, the theoretical calculation of the cross-section to produce ⁵²Mn based on EMPIRE 3.2.2 code was carried out, focusing the attention on the optimization of the code parameters. The calculated cross-sections, obtained considering the effect of different level density models of the code, were compared with the experimental ones, to produce ⁵²Mn isotopes by deuteron beam irradiation in the energy range up to 35 MeV on ^natCr target. At the same time, the co-produced ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵¹Cr and ⁴⁸V from ^natCr(d,X) nuclear reactions have been investigated. The results are also compared with the data taken from the online TENDL library of different versions.

KEYWORDS:

• EMPIRE code
• cross-section
• manganese-52
• radionuclide production
• deuteron particle irradiation
• positron emission tomography

Subject classification codes:

• Treatment strategy (medical Physics)
• 87.55.-x
• Monte Carlo methods in
• 87.55.K-
• simulation of
• 87.55.Gh
• Radiation sources (medical physics)
• 87.56.B-
• accelerators
• 87.56.bd
• Deuteron-induced reactions
• 25.45.-z

Acknowledgements

This work was mainly performed in the frame of the research Salahaddin University-Erbil and project METRICS by INFN (Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, CSN5). The cyclotron ARRONAX is supported by the European Union. Special thanks to Dr. Lorenzo Vilona for his contribution in reviewing the English language of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).