International
Conference on Advanced Monte Carlo for Radiation Physics, Particle Transport
Simulation and Applications (Monte Carlo 2000)
23-26
October 2000 IST Congress Centre, Lisbon, Portugal
The
Monte Carlo2000 conference was the largest conference on this topic so far.
It will have an impact on a wider and improved utilisation of the Monte Carlo
methods for real-life applications. Monte Carlo 2000 was devoted to application
areas for all types of particles that have technological interest today for
industrial nuclear and radiation applications, dosimetry and radiotherapy.
The programme was split into 25 technical sessions plus two plenary sessions
devoted to invited speakers and summaries of highlights and future perspectives.
The printed proceedings will amount to 240 papers, plus a CD-ROM. The breakdown
by areas of interest was as follows:
Electron-photon:
10 parallel and 1 poster sessions: 115 papers
Neutron-gamma:
8 parallel and 1 poster sessions: 73 papers
Hadrons:
7 parallel and 1 poster sessions: 52 papers
The
conference was attended by 303 participants from 30 countries (see the graph
of participants by country), representing code developers, researchers, radiation
physicists, industry, utilities and organisations involved in dosimetry and
radiotherapy.
Monte
Carlo methods have matured considerably, and are applied to a wide class of
problems. This conference showed in particular the many aspects related to
radiation transport. Their success comes not only from the highly precise
modelling they can achieve, but also from the fact that they are very suitable
to run on advanced computers effectively.
Unlike
previous conferences, seminars and workshops on Monte Carlo methods, this
one emphasised applications rather than methods. The conference provided insight
into the versatility of the methods for a number of different nuclear applications,
but also in the following areas: radiation physics applications; design of
systems including beams, detectors and spectrometers; diagnostics; material
damage studies; etc. There were an unexpectedly large number of electron-photon
applications.
The
presentation of recent developments in these modelling tools, how they are
made available, and how they are used was of great interest to participants.
In general, the attitude was that of sharing, while leaving the necessary
space for high-level commercial services. The role of the NEA Data Bank and
the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (USA) in collecting,
disseminating and preserving information while arranging training courses
was judged of high value.
An
unexpectedly large number of young scientists and researchers presented their
work, showing that the radiation application area is attracting young scientists
whose work is of a high quality.
In
connection with the conference, a series of tutorials were delivered on topics
addressed at the conference mainly for a student audience, including "junior"
physicists and researchers.
Main
topics of the technical sessions
Sessions
on electron-photon problems
The
ten sessions were devoted to electron and photon interaction physics/electron-photon
transport mechanics, including: general purpose codes; methods (in particular
variance reduction); microdosimetry; and above all, applications. Concerning
applications, the following areas were covered: microdosimetry; radiobiological
modelling; radiation-induced DNA damage; medical physics and applications;
radiotherapy and its clinical implementation; radiosurgery; internal and external
dosimetry; X-ray imaging; detector response simulation and optimisation; space
applications; waste management; beam collimators; non-destructive evaluations;
and radiation shield optimisation. It is expected that codes will become faster
and user-friendlier in the future.
Sessions
on neutron-gamma problems
The
eight sessions were devoted to theory and methods addressing new developments
such as: sensitivity and uncertainty analysis; perturbation theory; source
convergence; variance reduction; hybrid Monte Carlo; and adjoint methods.
The status of the general purpose and widely used codes were presented. Interpretation
of experiments and measurements covered: benchmarks and uncertainty assessment;
cross-section issues; and responses of neutron dosimeters. Applications covered:
radiation shielding and shield design; PWR pressure vessel fluence and damage;
BWR fluence; core neutronics; pebble bed reactors; criticality; reactor core
calculations; burn-up and isotopic depletion; beam tube design; accelerator-driven
systems; fusion blanket and shield; neutron capture therapy; gamma ray spectrometry;
dose estimation; and oil well logging. Visualisation of geometries and of
simulation results has become very sophisticated and help improve understanding
and result diagnosis.
Sessions
on hadron interaction problems
The
seven sessions covered the following areas: the latest status of hadron transport
computer codes; the physics model calculation and data compilations including
cross-section modelling and hadronic collisions; generalised evaporation and
fission models; ion track structure; integral (thick target) data, heavy ions,
baryon stopping, multiple scattering of charged particles, and photo-nuclear
cascade evaporation. Experiments and benchmarks covered: transport through
very thick concrete and iron for heavy ion accelerators, spallation-induced
reactions on lead and mercury targets, stopping power of ions in matter, and
residual nuclide production data. The sessions on applications covered: the
design of the spallation neutron source; the design of accelerator-driven
systems; proton beam radiation therapy; the effects on microelectronics devices;
fast ion dynamics; carbon ion radiotherapy; neutron shielding for proton therapy;
secondary particle yields; spectrometers; and the simulation of neutron time
of flight facilities. The three high intensity spallation source projects
will continue to provide incentives for strong activity and developments in
this field. A need to improve the physics in intranuclear cascade models was
identified.
Next
conference
Participants
recommended that due to the success of the Lisbon conference and its particularly
attractive format, this type of conference should be held at regular intervals.
As recent conferences and seminars on this subject have been mostly in Europe,
possible candidates for the next such conference are Japan and the USA. An
international committee should be set up to seek a new location and time for
future Monte Carlo conferences and to advise on a programme in line with major
needs expressed in the participating countries. The next Monte Carlo conference
could be scheduled some time between 2003 and 2005.
Organisation
The
Conference's General Chairman was Dr. Masayuki Nakagawa from the Japan Atomic
Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and its Technical Programme Co-ordinator
Dr. Pedro Vaz. The conference was organised and hosted jointly by several
Portuguese establishments: Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear (ITN); Instituto
Superior Técnico (IST); Laboratório de Instrumentação
e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP) and others. The conference
was co-organised at the international level by the OECD/NEA, and co-sponsored
by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Radiation Safety Information
Computational Center (RSICC), the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ), and
the American Nuclear Society (ANS).
