Geant4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Geant4 | |
| Developer: | Geant4 Collaboration |
|---|---|
| Latest release: | 8.2 / December 15, 2006 |
| OS: | Cross-platform |
| Use: | Computational physics |
| License: | Geant4 Software License |
| Website: | [1] |
Geant4 (for GEometry ANd Tracking) is a platform for "the simulation of the passage of particles through matter," using Monte Carlo methods. It is the most recent in the GEANT series of software toolkits developed by CERN, and the first to use Object oriented programming (in C++). According to its website, "application areas include high energy physics and nuclear experiments, medical, accelerator and space physics studies." The software is used by a number of research projects around the world.
The Geant4 software and source code were always freely available from the project web site, but no specific software license for its use existed. As of version 8.1 (released June 30, 2006) that omission has been remedied: Geant4 is now provided under the Geant4 Software License.
Contents |
[edit] Geant4 features
Geant4 includes facilities for handling geometry, tracking, detector response, run management, visualization and user interface. For many physics simulations, this means less time need be spent on the low level details, and researchers can start immediately on the more important aspects of the simulation.
Following is a summary of each of the facilities listed above:
- Geometry is an analysis of the physical layout of the experiment, including detectors, absorbers, etc., and considering how this layout will affect the path of particles in the experiment.
- Tracking is simulating the passage of a particle through matter. This involves considering possible interactions and decay processes.
- Detector response is recording when a particle passes through the volume of a detector, and approximating how a real detector would respond.
- Run management is recording the details of each run (a set of events), as well as setting up the experiment in different configurations between runs.
- Geant4 offers a number of options for visualization, including OpenGL, and a familiar user interface, based on Bash.
Geant4 can also optionally perform histogramming, but it requires external software that implements the AIDA framework in order to do so.
[edit] Some high energy physics experiments using Geant4
- BaBar and GLAST at SLAC
- ATLAS and CMS at LHC, CERN
- Borexino [2] at Gran Sasso Laboratory
- MINOS at Fermilab
[edit] Geant4 applications outside high energy physics
Because of its general purpose nature, Geant4 is well suited for development of computational tools for analysing interactions of particle with matter in many areas. These include:
- Space applications [3] where it is used to study interactions between the natural space radiation environment and space hardware or astronauts;
- Medical applications where interactions of radiations used for treatment are simulated.
