Generating the full SM at linear colliders

TL;DR

This paper discusses the comprehensive generation of Standard Model background events for linear collider experiments, emphasizing the importance of detailed simulation including machine conditions and backgrounds to improve measurement precision.

Contribution

It provides an organized overview of the methods and tools used for generating and simulating SM events at linear colliders, including machine effects and backgrounds.

Findings

Generated extensive SM background samples for ILC and CLIC.

Detailed treatment of machine conditions and backgrounds in event simulation.

Tools and categorization for physics event generation at linear colliders.

Abstract

Future linear $e^+e^-$ colliders aim for extremely high precision measurements. To achieve this, not only excellent detectors and well controlled machine conditions are needed, but also the best possible estimate of backgrounds. To avoid that lacking channels and too low statistics becomes a major source of systematic errors in data-MC comparisons, all SM channels with the potential to yield at least a few events under the full lifetime of the projects need to be generated, with statistics largely exceeding that of the real data. Also machine conditions need to be accurately taken into account. This includes beam-polarisation, interactions due to the photons inevitably present in the highly focused beams, and coherent interactions of whole bunches. This endeavour has already been partly achieved in preparing design documents for both the ILC and CLIC: Comprehensive samples of fully simulated and reconstructed events are available for use. In this contribution, we present how the generation of physics events at linear colliders is categorised and organised, and the tools used. Also covered is how different aspects of machine conditions, different sources of spurious interactions (such as beam-induced backgrounds) are treated and the tools involved for these aspects.