Proton-impact ionization cross sections for nanodosimetric track structure simulations

Monte Carlo simulations of the particle track structure require accurate ion- and electron-impact cross-section data of the

medium. These data are scarce and often inconsistent when measured by different groups. In this work, literature data on ionisation

cross sections (CSs) of nitrogen and propane for protons with energies 0.1–10 MeV are reviewed and implemented in

the code PTra. Methane data were used to obtain proton-impact CSs of propane due to their absence in the literature. PTra is

benchmarked by comparing simulated particle-track parameters to experimental results, measured with an ion-counting

nanodosemeter.