A Run-Wise Simulation and Analysis Framework for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope Arrays

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel run-wise simulation framework for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope arrays that enhances realism and reduces systematic uncertainties by simulating actual observation conditions and configurations.

Contribution

It introduces a new simulation paradigm that models each observation individually, improving accuracy and computational efficiency compared to traditional pre-defined simulation methods.

Findings

More realistic simulations with reduced systematic uncertainties

Computational effort scales linearly with observation time

Suitable for complex current and future IACT arrays

Abstract

We introduce a new simulation and analysis paradigm for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) arrays, simulating the actual observation conditions as well as individual telescope configuration for each observation unit. Compared to existing frameworks, where simulations are usually generated using pre-defined settings, this run-wise simulation approach implies more realistic simulations and hence reduced systematic uncertainties. The computational effort of this dedicated simulation concept is notably independent of the amount of different observation configurations but just scales linearly with observation time. This corresponds to a large advantage for increasingly complex current and future IACT arrays where the size of the phase space makes it computationally unfeasible to generate simulations that reach the requirements regarding systematics using the classical simulation scheme.