Verification of KURBUC-based ion track structure mode for proton and carbon ions in the PHITS code

The particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) is a general-purpose Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation code. It has the ability to handle diverse particle types over a wide range of energy. The latest PHITS development enables the generation of track structure for proton and carbon ions (¹H⁺, ¹²C⁶⁺) based on the algorithms in the KURBUC code, which is considered as one of the most verified track-structure codes worldwide. This ion track-structure mode is referred to as the PHITS-KURBUC mode. In this study, the range, radial dose distributions, and microdosimetric distributions were calculated using the PHITS-KURBUC mode. Subsequently, they were compared with the corresponding data obtained from the original KURBUC and from other studies. These comparative studies confirm the successful inclusion of the KURBUC code in the PHITS code. As results of the synergistic effect between the macroscopic and microscopic radiation transport codes, this implementation enabled the detailed calculation of the microdosimetric and nanodosimetric quantities under complex radiation fields, such as proton beam therapy with the spread-out Bragg peak.