A study of the energy deposition profile of proton beams in materials of hadron therapeutic interest.

The energy delivered by a swift proton beam in materials of interest to hadron therapy (liquid water, polymethylmethacrylate or polystyrene) is investigated. An explicit condensed-state description of the target excitation spectrum based on the dielectric formalism is used to calculate the energy-loss rate of the beam in the irradiated materials. This magnitude is the main input in the simulation code SEICS (Simulation of Energetic Ions and Clusters through Solids) used to evaluate the dose as a function of the penetration depth and radial distance from the beam axis.