Isotopic Production Cross Section Updates in GALPROP for Modeling Cosmic Ray Propagation

Our understanding of the galactic composition and cosmic ray (CR) propagation has come a long way since the advent of analytical and semi-analytical techniques such as the simplistic Leaky Box model, which well-complemented the experimental data available at the time. But with the continuous flow of new and more accurate data from space, balloon and ground-based experiments, there is a need for further development of models to incorporate the complexities of propagation of CRs. Having the latest results and theoretical knowledge distilled and easily accessible in a unified framework is advantageous for the scientific community, as well as for planning new science missions. To that end, one of the major updates of the next online-available version of GALPROP will focus on the database of nuclear isotopic production cross sections. Currently, the cross sections available are taken from data up to 1999, and since then there have been numerous experiments with newly measured reaction channels, and more accurate cross-section data on existing channels. The areas of focus that I will present are 1) the sub-Fe group, because recent studies have indicated that improvements in spallation cross section data are required to use the electron-capture CR to constrain geometric properties of diffusion models, and 2) isotopes of Fe and beyond, in order to support TIGERISS (recently selected for the PIONEERS mission), which will look at elemental abundances up to Pb.