Geant4

Geant4 ( Geometry and Tracking for ) is a platform for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter using Monte Carlo methods. It is the most modern part of the Toolkit series, which is being developed at CERN and used for the first time Object Oriented Programming ( C ). The application areas include high energy physics and nuclear experiments to reactions, medical physics, accelerator physics and astrophysics. The software is used by several research projects worldwide.

The Geant4 software and its source code were always freely available, but up to version 8.1 (30 June 2006 ) there was no specific license to use. Meanwhile Geant4 License is distributed under the terms of the Geant4 Software.

Functions

Geant4 has the option to manipulate geometries, tracking responses of detectors Run management, visualization and user interface. In many physical simulations can thus less time spent with details at a low level and the researchers can focus on the more important aspects of the simulation.

  • Geometry illustrates the structure of the experiment, and its components ( such as detectors, absorbers, etc. ), and calculates, as the layout will affect the Teilchenweg.
  • Tracking is the simulation of the path of a particle through matter. This includes the calculation of the possible interaction of ionizing radiation with matter and decay processes.
  • Responses of detectors ( " detector response" ) tries to install detectors in the experiment and to calculate their answers.
  • Run management deals with the details of individual sequences ( " runs" ) and changes to the configuration.
  • The user interface, usually a Bash -like command line, allows the interactive operation of a Geant4 -based application.
  • Geant4 provides a number of options for visualization. These include the issue of screen text using OpenGL or ray tracing, and the output files in VRML or HepRep format.

Some experiments of high energy physics, the use Geant4

  • BaBar and GLAST at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center ( SLAC )
  • ATLAS and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS ) at the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC), CERN
  • Borexino at the Laboratori nazionali del Gran Sasso ( LNGS )
  • MINOS at Fermilab
  • EXO
  • The PANDA experiment at GSI ( in planning)
  • The International Linear Collider (planned)
  • The Belle II experiment at KEK in Tsukuba ( in planning)

Other applications

Due to its universal structure, Geant4 is also well suited for other applications:

  • Space applications, where Geant4 is used to explore interactions of cosmic rays with spaceships;
  • Medical applications in which effects of the radioactivity is tested for human body (for example, for treating tumors )
Elementary particle Particle accelerator June 30 Detector (disambiguation) Absorption (electromagnetic radiation) PYTHIA
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