Measurements of temporal response of luminescence of water at lower energy than Cerenkov-light threshold during carbon-ion irradiation.

Although the luminescence of water at lower energy than the Cerenkov-light threshold during carbon-ion irradiation was found and imaging was possible, the temporal response has not been measured, and so the difference from Cerenkov-light remains unclear. To clarify this point, we measured the temporal response of the luminescence of water at lower energy than the Cerenkov-light threshold and compared it with that of Cerenkov-light. We used silicon photomultiplier (Si-PM) modules to measure the temporal response at the Bragg peak area of a water phantom during irradiation of the carbon ion where the Cerenkov-light was not included. We also measured the temporal response at the shallow depth of the water phantom where the Cerenkov-light was included. In both areas, we measured the temporal waveforms of the light produced by the irradiation of the carbon ions in which the ripples of spills were clearly observed. We found no difference in the waveforms between the Bragg peak and the shallow depths of water. Our results do not contradict the hypothesis that the luminescence of water and Cerenkov-light are produced by the same mechanism.