Geant4: a Game Changer in High Energy Physics and Related Applicative Fields

TL;DR

Geant4 is a versatile, object-oriented simulation toolkit that has significantly advanced high energy physics and related fields since 1998, supporting scientific discoveries across multiple disciplines.

Contribution

This paper highlights the key principles and innovative design decisions of Geant4 that made it a transformative tool in physics and applied sciences.

Findings

Over 16,000 citations in 25 years demonstrate its scientific impact.

Supported major discoveries in high energy physics and other fields.

Versatile application across space science, nuclear physics, medical physics, and archaeology.

Abstract

Geant4 is an object-oriented toolkit for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter. Its development was initially motivated by the requirements of physics experiments at high energy hadron colliders under construction in the last decade of the 20th century. Since its release in 1998, it has been exploited in many different applicative fields, including space science, nuclear physics, medical physics and archaeology. Its valuable support to scientific discovery is demonstrated by more than 16000 citations received in the past 25 years, including notable citations for main discoveries in different fields. This accomplishment shows that well designed software plays a key role in enabling scientific advancement. In this paper we discuss the key principles and the innovative decisions at the basis of Geant4, which made it a game changer in high energy physics and related fields, and outline some considerations regarding future directions.