Publications by authors named "Chiara Nociforo"

Article Synopsis
  • Radioactive nuclei that live for millions of years help us understand the Sun's formation and the nucleosynthesis happening when it was born, with lead (Pb) being a key example.
  • Recent measurements of the weak decay of ionized thallium (Tl) provided a more accurate half-life, which was found to be 4.7 times longer than previously thought, thus reducing uncertainty in our calculations.
  • Using these improved decay rates, researchers calculated lead yields in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, confirmed isolation times for solar material, and validated the theory that the Sun formed in a long-lived molecular cloud.
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We report the charge-changing cross sections (σ) of 24 p-shell nuclides on both hydrogen and carbon at about 900A MeV, of which Li, Be, B, N and O on hydrogen and Li on carbon are for the first time. Benefiting from the data set, we found a new and robust relationship between the scaling factor of the Glauber model calculations and the separation energies of the nuclei of interest on both targets. This allows us to deduce proton radii (R) for the first time from the cross sections on hydrogen.

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Owing to the favorable depth-dose distribution and the radiobiological properties of heavy ion radiation, ion beam therapy shows an improved success/toxicity ratio compared to conventional radiotherapy. The sharp dose gradients and very high doses in the Bragg peak region, which represent the larger physical advantage of ion beam therapy, make it also extremely sensitive to range uncertainties. The use of -radioactive ion beams would be ideal for simultaneous treatment and accurate online range monitoring through PET imaging.

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Several techniques are under development for image-guidance in particle therapy. Positron (β) emission tomography (PET) is in use since many years, because accelerated ions generate positron-emitting isotopes by nuclear fragmentation in the human body. In heavy ion therapy, a major part of the PET signals is produced by β-emitters generated projectile fragmentation.

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