Design, spectrum measurements and simulations for a 238Pu α-particle irradiator for bystander effect and genomic instability experiments

Design, spectrum measurements and simulations for an α-particle irradiator for bystander effect and genomic instability experiments are presented. Measured α-particle energy spectra were used to confirm the characteristics of the source of the irradiator specified by the manufacturer of the source. The spectra were measured in vacuum with a high-resolution spectrometer and simulated with an AASI Monte Carlo code. As a next step, we simulated α-particle energy spectra at the target plane of the irradiator for three different source-to-target distances. In these simulations, helium was used as the medium between the source and the exit window of the irradiator; its pressure and temperature corresponded to those of the ambient air. Mean energies and full-widths at half-maximum (FWHM) were calculated for the three different helium gas tracks.