Monte Carlo simulation of GCR neutron capture production of cosmogenic nuclides in stony meteorites and lunar surface

Abstract

A purely physical model based on a Monte Carlo simulation of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particle interaction with meteoroids is used to investigate neutron interactions down to thermal energies. Experimental and/or evaluated excitation functions are used to calculate neutron capture production rates as a function of the size of the meteoroid and the depth below its surface. Presented are the depth profiles of cosmogenic radionuclides 36Cl, 41Ca, 60Co, 59Ni, and 129I for meteoroid radii from 10 cm up to 500 cm and a 2-pi irradiation. Effects of bulk chemical composition on n-capture processes are studied and discussed for various chondritic and lunar compositions. The mean GCR particle flux over the last 300 ka was determined from the comparison of simulations with measured 41Ca activities in the Apollo 15 drill core. The determined value significantly differs from that obtained using equivalent models of spallation residue production.