Chapter 11
Detector Simulation
J. Apostolakis
This chapter provides an overview of particle and radiation transport simulation,
as it is used in the simulation of detectors in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(HENP) experiments and, briefly, in other application areas. The past decade has
seen significant growth in the availability of large networked computing power and
particle transport tools with increasing precision available to HENP experiments,
and enabled the use of detailed simulation at an unprecedented scale.
After describing the uses of detector simulation and giving an overview of its
components, we will examine selected cases and key uses of detector simulation in
experiments and its impact.
11.1 Overview of Detector Simulation
11.1.1 Uses of Detector Simulation
Simulating the generation of particles in an initial collision, the interaction of
these primaries and their daughter particles with the material of a detector and the
response of the detector is a key element of recent experiments. Its importance has
grown with each generation of experiments from LEP, B-factories, and the Tevatron,
through to the current generation at the LHC, due to the increased precision
requirements. It will be a significant element in planned experiments at superB factories, the International Linear Collider (ILC), the Future Circular Collider
(FCC), and also for numerous ongoing and smaller future experiments.
J. Apostolakis ()
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
e-mail: john.apostolakis@cern.ch
© The Author(s) 2020
C. W. Fabjan, H. Schopper (eds.), Particle Physics Reference Library,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35318-6_11
485
Detector Simulation
J. Apostolakis
This chapter provides an overview of particle and radiation transport simulation,
as it is used in the simulation of detectors in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(HENP) experiments and, briefly, in other application areas. The past decade has
seen significant growth in the availability of large networked computing power and
particle transport tools with increasing precision available to HENP experiments,
and enabled the use of detailed simulation at an unprecedented scale.
After describing the uses of detector simulation and giving an overview of its
components, we will examine selected cases and key uses of detector simulation in
experiments and its impact.
11.1 Overview of Detector Simulation
11.1.1 Uses of Detector Simulation
Simulating the generation of particles in an initial collision, the interaction of
these primaries and their daughter particles with the material of a detector and the
response of the detector is a key element of recent experiments. Its importance has
grown with each generation of experiments from LEP, B-factories, and the Tevatron,
through to the current generation at the LHC, due to the increased precision
requirements. It will be a significant element in planned experiments at superB factories, the International Linear Collider (ILC), the Future Circular Collider
(FCC), and also for numerous ongoing and smaller future experiments.
J. Apostolakis ()
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
e-mail: john.apostolakis@cern.ch
© The Author(s) 2020
C. W. Fabjan, H. Schopper (eds.), Particle Physics Reference Library,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35318-6_11
485