The development of a GEANT based Monte Carlo simulation framework for the R&D process of the FoCal calorimeter

Abstract

In this thesis the development of a general simulation framework for particle detectors based on the GEANT3 software is described. This framework consists of multiple C++ classes and running scripts containing the different functionalities of the framework. Several basic user interfaces were constructed to allow for a relatively simple manipulation of the detector geometry, the detection chip pixel structure and the primary particles. The description of the simulation framework is followed by several consistency checks of said framework in order to establish the reliability of the simulation results in the context of the FoCal project. More specifically the FoCal prototype geometry was implemented in several electromagnetic shower simulations. The results of these simulations were used to investigate features of the FoCal detector like the sampling fraction, the electromagnetic shower shape and the energy deposition in thin silicon layers. Subsequently a comparison of these features to theoretical predictions was made as a consistency check of the simulation framework. Finally simulation results on the total response and energy resolution of the FoCal prototype are presented.