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Exponential Discontinuous Solution of the Multispecies Relativistic Heavy Ion Transport Equations
Linear schemes applied to charged particle transport problems demonstrate high order accuracy but under certain conditions can also produce negative solutions. On the other hand, the recently developed nonlinear exponential discontinuous (ED) method has been shown to produce accurate strictly positive solutions, for positive sources, in neutral particle transport applications. We have applied this method to the solution, in space and energy, of the multispecies transport equations for relativistic heavy ions. The solution may be useful as a treatment planning tool for the irradiation of certain cancers using heavy ions. Collisions between projectile ions and atoms in the target medium can result in ion fragments different from the original species. The solution includes these projectile fragments. The primary ion and all fragments are treated using the straight ahead approximation under which the fragments continue on with the same velocity as the original projectile.