17372933
MAGE - a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo framework for low-background experiments
A Monte Carlo framework, MaGe, has been developed based on the Geant4 simulation toolkit. Its purpose is to simulate physics processes in low-energy and low-background radiation detectors, specifically for the Majorana and Gerda $^{76}$Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. This jointly-developed tool is also used to verify the simulation of physics processes relevant to other low-background experiments in Geant4. The MaGe framework contains simulations of prototype experiments and test stands, and is easily extended to incorporate new geometries and configurations while still using the same verified physics processes, tunings, and code framework. This reduces duplication of efforts and improves the robustness of and confidence in the simulation output.
20578469
A Generic Surface Sampler for Monte Carlo Simulations
We present a Monte Carlo algorithm that generates points randomly and uniformly on a set of arbitrary surfaces. The algorithm is completely general and only requires the geometry modeling software to provide the intersection points of an arbitrary line with the surface being sampled. We demonstrate the algorithm using the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. The efficiency of the sampling algorithm is discussed, along with various options in the implementation and example applications.
23177219
Fermi-LAT Sensitivity to Dark Matter Annihilation in Via Lactea II Substructure
We present a study of the ability of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to detect dark matter (DM) annihilation signals from the Galactic subhalos predicted by the Via Lactea II N-body simulation. We implement an improved formalism for estimating the boost factor needed to account for the effect of DM clumping on scales below the resolution of the simulation, and we incorporate a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the response of the Fermi-LAT, including a simulation of its all-sky observing mode integrated over a 10 year mission. We find that for WIMP masses up to about 150 GeV c –2 in standard supersymmetric models with σv = 3 × 10–26 cm3 s–1, a few subhalos could be detectable with >5 standard deviation significance and would likely deviate significantly from the appearance of a point source.
115852024
Measurement of the quantum efficiency of TMAE and TEA from threshold to 120 nm
Several existing and planned high energy physics experiments incorporate detectors which use either TMAE (tetrakis-dimethylaminoethylene) or TEA (triethylamine) as their photosensitive agent. Understanding the operation of these devices requires knowledge of the absolute photoionization quantum efficiencies and absorption lengths of TMAE and TEA. In an experiment performed at the National Synchrotron Light source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, we have measured these parameters from 120 nm to 280 nm. The quantum efficiencies were normalized to the known photoionization yields of benzene and cis-2-butene. The results of these measurements and details of the experiment are presented in this paper.
14005977
The silicon tracker readout electronics of the gamma-ray large area space telescope
A unique electronics system has been built and tested for reading signals from the silicon-strip detectors of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope mission. The system amplifies and processes signals from 884 736 36-cm strips using only 160 W of power, and it achieves close to 100% detection efficiency with noise occupancy sufficiently low to allow it to self trigger. The design of the readout system is described, and results are presented from ground-based testing of the completed detector system.
2889124
The silicon tracker/converter for the gamma-ray large area space telescope
The Silicon Tracker/Converter of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will have an active area of 80 m2, representing one of the largest planned applications of the silicon-strip detector technology. The large number of channels (1.3 million) to read out, together with the requirement that the tracker provide the trigger to the data acquisition, force the readout electronics to be of very low noise. Furthermore, to "t into the power constraints of the satellite environment, the electronics must have an ultra-low power consumption. To ful"ll these requirements, plus others imposed by the space environment, such as redundancy, a mixed mode CMOS front-end readout chip and a digital readout controller chip have been designed and prototyped. In this article, we present the status of the readout electronics and the results from a test-beam study with a small GLAST tracker prototype. ( 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
118436248
Upgrades to the Event Simulation and Reconstruction for the Fermi Large Area Telescope
The pre-launch event simulation and reconstruction performed beyond our expectations for real data, essentially without modification, and made possible the immediate start of science analysis. But the on-orbit data exhibit unanticipated features that necessitate upgrades to both the simulation (essentially complete) and the reconstruction (ongoing). The major new effect encountered on orbit is the presence of "ghosts," that is, remnant detector response to particles passing through the detector before the particle that triggered the event. These ghosts appear primarily in the form of extra tracks and/or energy deposits. As part of this upgrade, we plan to enhance our ability to discriminate against background particles by introducing additional analysis during the reconstruction phase. We present a description of the effect of ghosts, and of the work needed to deal with them, done and planned, as well as some other ideas for improving the reconstruction.