Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-02-05
Nucl.Instrum.Meth.A581:619-631,2007
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
22 pages, 8 Postscript figures, uses elsart.cls
Scientific paper
10.1016/j.nima.2007.07.143
In the field of neutrino astronomy, large volumes of optically transparent matter like glacial ice, lake water, or deep ocean water are used as detector media. Elementary particle interactions are studied using in situ detectors recording time distributions and fluxes of the faint photon fields of Cherenkov radiation generated by ultra-relativistic charged particles, typically muons or electrons. The Photonics software package was developed to determine photon flux and time distributions throughout a volume containing a light source through Monte Carlo simulation. Photons are propagated and time distributions are recorded throughout a cellular grid constituting the simulation volume, and Mie scattering and absorption are realised using wavelength and position dependent parameterisations. The photon tracking results are stored in binary tables for transparent access through ANSI-C and C++ interfaces. For higher-level physics applications, like simulation or reconstruction of particle events, it is then possible to quickly acquire the light yield and time distributions for a pre-specified set of light source and detector properties and geometries without real-time photon propagation. In this paper the Photonics light propagation routines and methodology are presented and applied to the IceCube and Antares neutrino telescopes. The way in which inhomogeneities of the Antarctic glacial ice distort the signatures of elementary particle interactions, and how Photonics can be used to account for these effects, is described.
Adams Jeffrey
Burgess Thomas
Desiati Paolo
Hundertmark Stephan
Lundberg Johan
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