NuRadioMC: simulating the radio emission of neutrinos from interaction to detector

• Published in: The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 1 - 35
• Main Authors: Glaser, C., García-Fernández, D., Nelles, A., Alvarez-Muñiz, J., Barwick, S. W., Besson, D. Z., Clark, B. A., Connolly, A., Deaconu, C., de Vries, K. D., Hanson, J. C., Hokanson-Fasig, B., Lahmann, R., Latif, U., Kleinfelder, S. A., Persichilli, C., Pan, Y., Pfendner, C., Plaisier, I., Seckel, D., Torres, J., Toscano, S., van Eijndhoven, N., Vieregg, A., Welling, C., Winchen, T., Wissel, S. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 31.01.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Analysis; Astronomy; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Computer simulation; Design; Detectors; Electromagnetism; Elementary Particles; Flexibility; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Neutrinos; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Propagation; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Radio emission; Radio signals; Sensors; Special Article – Tools for Experiment and Theory; String Theory
• ISSN: 1434-6044; 1434-6052
• DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7612-8

NuRadioMC is a Monte Carlo framework designed to simulate ultra-high energy neutrino detectors that rely on the radio detection method. This method exploits the radio emission generated in the electromagnetic component of a particle shower following a neutrino interaction. NuRadioMC simulates everything from the neutrino interaction in a medium, the subsequent Askaryan radio emission, the propagation of the radio signal to the detector and finally the detector response. NuRadioMC is designed as a modern, modular Python-based framework, combining flexibility in detector design with user-friendliness. It includes a state-of-the-art event generator, an improved modelling of the radio emission, a revisited approach to signal propagation and increased flexibility and precision in the detector simulation. This paper focuses on the implemented physics processes and their implications for detector design. A variety of models and parameterizations for the radio emission of neutrino-induced showers are compared and reviewed. Comprehensive examples are used to discuss the capabilities of the code and different aspects of instrumental design decisions.