The objective of this study was to characterize the time-resolved (TR) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from Al2O3:C detectors and investigate methodologies to improve the accuracy of these detectors in ion beam therapy dosimetry, addressing the reduction in relative response to high linear energy transfer (LET) particles common to solid-state detectors. Al2O3:C OSL detectors (OSLDs) were exposed to proton, (4)He, (12)C and (16)O beams in 22 particle/energy combinations and read using a custom-built TR-OSL reader. The OSL response rOSL, relative to (60)Co gamma dose to water, and the ratio between the UV and blue OSL emission bands of Al2O3:C (UV/blue ratio) were determined as a function of the LET. Monte-Carlo simulations with the multi-purpose interaction and transport code FLUKA were used to estimate the absorbed doses and particle energy spectra in the different irradiation conditions. The OSL responses rOSL varied from 0.980 (0.73 keV μm(-1)) to 0.288 (120.8 keV μm(-1)). The OSL UV/blue ratio varied by a factor of two in the investigated LET range, but the variation for (12)C beams was only 11%. OSLDs were also irradiated at different depths of carbon ion spread-out Bragg peaks (SOBPs), where it was shown that doses could be obtained with an accuracy of ± 2.0% at the entrance channel and within the SOBP using correction factors calculated based on the OSL responses obtained in this study. The UV/blue ratio did not allow accurate estimation of the dose-averaged LET for (12)C SOBPs, although the values obtained can be explained with the data obtained in this study and the additional information provided by the Monte-Carlo simulations. The results demonstrate that accurate OSLD dosimetry can be performed in ion beam therapy using appropriate corrections for the OSL response.

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The radiation environment encountered in space differs in nature from that on Earth, consisting mostly of highly energetic ions from protons up to iron, resulting in radiation levels far exceeding the ones present on Earth for occupational radiation workers. Since the beginning of the space era, the radiation exposure during space missions has been monitored with various active and passive radiation instruments. Also onboard the International Space Station (ISS), a number of area monitoring devices provide data related to the spatial and temporal variation of the radiation field in and outside the ISS. The aim of the DOSIS (2009DOSIS ( -2011 and the DOSIS 3D (2012-ongoing) experiments was and is to measure the radiation environment within the European Columbus Laboratory of the ISS. These measurements are, on the one hand, performed with passive radiation detectors mounted at 11 locations within Columbus for the determination of the spatial distribution of the radiation field parameters and, on the other, with two active radiation detectors mounted at a fixed position inside Columbus for the determination of the temporal variation of the radiation field parameters. Data measured with passive radiation detectors showed that the absorbed dose values inside the Columbus Laboratory follow a pattern, based on the local shielding configuration of the radiation detectors, with minimum dose values observed in the year 2010 of 195-270 lGy/day and maximum values observed in the year 2012 with values ranging from 260 to 360 lGy/day. The absorbed dose is modulated by (a) the variation in solar activity and (b) the changes in ISS altitude.

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Spectroscopic analyses of Type Ia supernovae have shown there exist four spectroscopic groups-cools, broad line, shallow silicon, and core normal-defined by the widths of the Si II features λ5972 and λ6355. 1991bg-likes are classified as "cools". Cools are dim, undergo a rapid decline in luminosity, and produce significantly less 56 Ni than normal Type Ia supernovae. They also have an unusually deep and wide trough in their spectra around 4200Å and a relatively strong Si II absorption attributed to λ5972. We examine the spectra of supernova (SN) 1991bg and the cools SN 1997cn, SN 1999by, and SN 2005bl using the highly parameterized synthetic spectrum code SYNOW, and find general agreement with similar spectroscopic studies. Our analysis reveals that this group of supernovae is fairly homogeneous, with many of the blue spectral features well fit by Fe II. The nature of the spectroscopic commonalities and the variations in the class are discussed. Finally, we examine intermediates such as SN 2004eo and discuss the spectroscopic subgroup distribution of Type Ia supernovae.