Impact of detector simulation in particle physics collider experiments - highlights

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P. O. Box 500, Batavia, IL, 60510-5011, USA

^* e-mail: daniel@fnal.gov

Published online: 17 September 2019

Abstract

Detector simulation has become fundamental to the success of modern high-energy physics (HEP) experiments. For example, the Geant4-based simulation applications developed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments played a major role for them to produce physics measurements of unprecedented quality and precision with faster turnaround, from data taking to journal submission, than any previous hadron collider experiment. The material presented here contains highlights of a recent review on the impact of detector simulation in particle physics collider experiments published in Ref. [1]. It includes examples of applications to detector design and optimization, software development and testing of computing infrastructure, and modeling of physics objects and their kinematics. The cost and economic impact of simulation in the CMS experiment is also presented. A discussion on future detector simulation needs, challenges and potential solutions to address them is included at the end.