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4.6 Nuclear Physics Tools and Applications to produce MRI scanners that are lightweight, open, portable and cheaper than the current bulky and claustrophobic cylindrical magnets. Radioprotection In radioprotection, it is normally assumed that the risk of radiation-induced late effects is proportional to dose, even at very low doses (linear-no-threshold or LNT hypothesis). Recent results on non-targeted radiation effects may radically challenge the current LNT-based radioprotection paradigm. Non-targeted effects include: • bystander effect: radiation effects in cells not directly exposed to radiation • genomic instability: mutations and chromosomal rearrangements in daughter cells, many generations after the exposure • abscopal effect: radiation effects in organs not exposed to the radiation field (observed in radiotherapy) • systemic reactions: inflammation and tissue-level radiation damage • hormesis: low doses of radiation protect cells from subsequent high dose exposures. These effects could potentially prove that our current risk estimates at low doses are either underestimated (e.g. if the bystander effect increase the risk in non-hit cells) or overestimated (if hormesis proves to be a relevant adaptive mechanism for ionizing radiation). The relevance of hormesis for radiation protection is highly debated, and the two conflicting recent reports from USA and French government advisory groups clearly demonstrates that more experiments are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these processes. Non-targeted effects could play a role not only in radiation protection, but also in radiation therapy (Figure 3). For radiation teletherapy (either by X-rays or charged particles), dose gradientdependent responses may influence the effect. Tumour heterogeneity may also lead to non-linear responses within the treatment field and to longer-range, abscopal or systemic effects. For radionuclide approaches (such as those tagged to monoclonal antibodies), the signals from a few labeled cells may be amplified by bystander signals within tumours and may also have long-range, abscopal or systemic effects. Research in this field should be given high priority, using both X-rays and charged particles. The impact of this research in other fields is potentially very high especially in nuclear power plants safety and radiodiagnostic, but also in imaging technology in other fields (e.g. the use of body scanners in the airports), high-altitude flights and space exploration etc. The role of nuclear physics in the future Numerous techniques and tools that have been borrowed to Nuclear Physics are now directly developed by the end-users or are commercially available (for instance cyclotrons for radiopharmaceutical production or protontherapy, PET devices …). However, given the recent developments and the growing interest in the subjects described above, it is clear that fundamental Nuclear Physics has still an important role to play in health sciences. Examples are given in the following: For radiopharmaceutical production: • The production of novel radioisotopes implies study of reaction cross sections with proton beams or on neutron beams produced by light ions reactions, development of production techniques with for instance targets sustaining high-intensities, new radiochemistry schemes…. • The much higher sensitivity of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) for 14 C detection compared to conventional techniques permits a new approach in the research of new pharmaceuticals, for instance to study their metabolism and kinetics. These studies can be carried out with such small quantities of substances labelled with 14 C (microdosing) that no pharmacological effect is detected, providing new information about the metabolism of pharmaceuticals particularly at a very early stage or allowing the test of several substances simultaneously. The use of a new generation of compact AMS systems dedicated to biomedical applications allows high sample throughput in short measurement times and with a precise yet simple measurement device. For particle therapy: • Nuclear physics can contribute to improving codes used in treatment planning system especially with further measurements of fragmentation crosssections. Only around 50% of the carbon ions are eventually deposited in a deep tumour, the others undergo nuclear fragmentation. Therefore, accurate cross-sections are necessary to calculate the dose-deposition patterns. Mots of the uncertainty is however related to the RBE, and therefore research in the field of radiobiology of energetic charged particles is urgently needed to improve cancer therapy and assess late effects. These research should be based at accelerators. In Europe, GSI (Darmstadt, Germany), GANIL (Caen, France), KVI (Groningen, The Netherlands), and TSL (Uppsala, Sweden) have important experimental programmes in the field of particle radiobiology. Several experiments are also carried out in many other accelerator facilities, as well 182 | Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010
as in clinical particle facilities currently running (HIT and PSI) or planned. • Further technological improvements include the treatment of moving organs with scanning beams, the use of rotating gantries for optimizing the treatment with minimal disturbance of the patient, and the development of compact cyclotrons to replace the current large and expensive synchrotrons in heavy ion therapy. • In addition, the new technology of laser-acceleration of charged particles is a potential breakthrough in the field, as it could dramatically reduce the costs of the facilities, although their potential for practical applications is still to be demonstrated. For imaging: • The nuclear physics community tackles the problems of on-line Dose Monitoring and of performing accurate Quality Assurance tests by developing novel imaging modalities related to dose deposition and allow assessing the treated volume and deriving reliable indicators of the delivered dose. It concentrates on the detection of nuclear reaction products produced by the interaction of the beam with atomic nuclei of the tissue (positron emitting nuclides for ibPET(in beam PET), photons or light charged particles for ibSPECT (in-beam Spect)). The application of TOF techniques with superior time resolution to beam delivery integrated double head ibPET scanners has the potential for improving ibPET image quality. Furthermore, the real-time observation of the dose delivery process will become feasible for the first time, substantially reducing intervention times in case of treatment mistakes or incidents. • Because each technology has unique strengths and limitations, platforms that combine several technologies (such as PET-CT, FMT-CT, FMT-MRI, SPECT-MRI and PET-MRI) are emerging, and these multimodal platforms have improved the reconstruction and visualization of data. Finally, in the future it can be foreseen that nuclear physics will meet nanotechnology: nanostructured devices are under study not only as vectors for therapeutical applications, but also for online in vivo dosimetry (Figure 3). For radioprotection: • The providing of still missing nuclear data for radiation protection at fusion facilities, future nuclear physics facilities (FAIR, ESS, EURISOL…), in space (see section 4.6.4) • The use of nuclear physics techniques and tools in the growing field of radiobiology and the possibility to study the influence of a low background radiation environment on biological material at underground laboratories (as done for instance in Gran Sasso) Recommendations Health science applications are very important for the society and, consequently, for the perception of Nuclear Physics by the general public. Therefore, the Nuclear Physics research and the facilities playing a role in this domain should be strongly supported, in particular the subjects listed above. The health science domain requires and probably will require an increasing number of specialists in nuclear techniques, accelerators and simulation tools, and in particular of radiophysicists in hospitals. It is therefore important to train a lot of young people, who will easily find jobs in industry or in medical centres. The links between fundamental, applied research, medical centers and industry should be reinforced. 4.6.4 Environmental and Space Applications Key Questions • How can Nuclear Physics help to understand and monitor climate evolution • How to monitor and predict radiation hazard in space Key Issues • More compact Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) systems and more efficient sample preparation techniques for improved data sets of long-lived radionuclides in nature • Portable highly sensitive detector systems for ionizing radiation • nuclear power sources for satellites and space crafts • Accurate nuclear reactions models In environmental sciences, Nuclear Physics play an important role through the measurements of isotopes, in particular with neutron activation analysis and AMS, which are very sensitive methods for detecting trace amounts of both radioactive and stable nuclides. Isotope measurements can be used for many environmental studies, including dating, tracing and source identification, as for instance for pollution control, water resource management, studies of paleoclimate, ocean circulation, CO 2 exchange between atmosphere and ocean… Some of the measurements need very low background conditions in order to identify traces of isotopes. In this context, underground laboratories built for fundamental Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe – NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010 | 183
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Forward Look Perspectives of Nuclea
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Contents Foreword 3 1. Executive Su
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Foreword The goal of this European
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1. Executive Summary 1.1.3 Objectiv
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1. Executive Summary structure and
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1. Executive Summary using slow ant
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1. Executive Summary The role of gl
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1. Executive Summary from the few-b
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1. Executive Summary Advances in nu
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1. Executive Summary and AMS or hig
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2. Recommendations and Roadmap EURI
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3. Research Infrastructures and Net
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4. Scientific Themes 4.1 Hadron Phy
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4.1.2 Basic Properties of Quantum C
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coupling can be applied. A key tool
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opportunity to determine the moduli
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A broad experimental programme has
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4.1.4 Hadron Spectroscopy Recent Ac
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Physics Perspectives There is a mul
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Global Perspective and Efforts In t
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The longest-range parts of these fo
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concentrate their efforts and conti
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4. Scientific Themes 4.2 Phases of
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tion of state would therefore deter
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an increase at the deconfinement te
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can be described with statistical h
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Box 3. Heavy ion fragmentation and
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Figure 7. Isotopic dependence of th
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energies so far did not find indica
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4.2.5 The High-Energy Frontier The
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Figure 10. Elliptic flow parameter
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elevant experimental and analysis r
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the same time being able to precise
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technology), a three-dimensional ar
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4. Scientific Themes 4.3 Nuclear St
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4.3.2 Theoretical Aspects Ab Initio
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the continuum, as done, e.g., in th
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Each of these extensions will open
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Halos, clusters and few-body correl
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Figure 3. Mirror Energy Differences
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Superheavy elements The existence o
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Figure 5. Gamma-ray spectrum of the
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The experimental evidence for the e
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4.3.7 Ground-State Properties Figur
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For nuclear astrophysics applicatio
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A detector array for high-energy ph
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and rejection power of separators.
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4. Scientific Themes 4.4 Nuclear As
Page 133 and 134: powers many of the objects we obser
Page 135 and 136: Hydrostatic burning Stars spend the
Page 137 and 138: Significant uncertainties remain fo
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Page 145 and 146: a neutron. Application of the detai
Page 147 and 148: urning can be treated in such a sta
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Page 153 and 154: 4. Scientific Themes 4.5 Fundamenta
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Page 159 and 160: ut also scintillating bolometers as
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Page 163 and 164: New time reversal invariant scalar
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Page 169 and 170: 4.5.4 Properties of Known Basic Int
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Page 203 and 204: 5.1 Contributors Hartmut Abele (Wie
Page 205 and 206: 5.3 Acronyms and Abbreviations ADS
Page 207 and 208: Published by the European Science F
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