Monte Carlo simulations of Gamma-ray space telescopes: a BoGEMMS multi-purpose application

TL;DR

This paper introduces an extension of the BoGEMMS simulation framework for gamma-ray space telescopes, enabling detailed performance evaluation and validation against real data for current and future missions.

Contribution

The paper presents a new gamma-ray simulation module within BoGEMMS, allowing multi-purpose, detailed modeling of gamma-ray telescopes and validation with real mission data.

Findings

Preliminary validation of the gamma-ray module against tabulated data.

Application of the framework to Gamma-Light instrument performance studies.

Ongoing full simulation of the AGILE mission for calibration and validation.

Abstract

After the development of a BoGEMMS (Bologna Geant4 Multi-Mission Simulator) template for the back- ground study of X-ray telescopes, a new extension is built for the simulation of a Gamma-ray space mission (e.g. AGILE, Fermi), conceived to work as a common, multi-purpose framework for the present and future electron tracking gamma-ray space telescopes. The Gamma-ray extension involves the Geant4 mass model, the physics list and, more important, the production and treatment of the simulation output. From the user point of view, the simulation set-up follows a tree structure, with the main level being the selection of the simulation framework (the general, X-ray or gamma-ray application) and the secondary levels being the detailed configuration of the geometry and the output format. The BoGEMMS application to Gamma-ray missions has been used to evaluate the instrument performances of a new generation of Gamma-ray tele- scopes (e.g. Gamma-Light), and a full simulation of the AGILE mission is currently under construction, to scientifically validate and calibrate the simulator with real in-space data sets. A complete description of the BoGEMMS Gamma-ray framework is presented here, with an overview of the achieved results for the potential application to present and future experiments (e.g., GAMMA-400 and Gamma-Light). The evaluation of the photon conversion efficiency to beta particle pairs and the comparison to tabulated data allows the preliminary physical validation of the overall architecture. The Gamma-ray module application for the study of the Gamma-Light instrument performances is reported as reference test case.