Validation of Nuclear Reaction Codes for Proton-Induced Radiation Effects: The Case for CEM03

Experimental cross-section data for the interaction of protons with Al, Co, and Au at intermediate energies are compared with the predictions of the nuclear reaction models CEM03, BIC, Bertini INC, and INCL-ABLA. Fission cross-section data for the interaction of protons with W and Au in the energy range 50 MeV-3 GeV are also compared with the considered models. The study reveals that all of the models are satisfactory in limited ranges. However, of these, the CEM03 code from Los Alamos exhibits the broadest applicability for radiation effects computations.