Validation of Geant4 hadronic generators versus thin target data

Abstract

The GEANT4 toolkit is widely used for simulation of high energy physics (HEP) experiments, in particular, those at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The requirements of robustness, stability and quality of simulation for the LHC are demanding. This requires an accurate description of hadronic interactions for a wide range of targets over a large energy range, from stopped particle reactions to low energy nuclear interactions to interactions at the TeV energy scale. This is achieved within the Geant4 toolkit by combining a number of models, each of which are valid within a certain energy domain. Comparison of these models to thin target data over a large energy range indicates the strengths and weaknesses of the model descriptions and the energy range over which each model is valid. Software has been developed to handle the large number of validation tests required to provide the feedback needed to improve the models. An automated process for carrying out the validation and storing/displaying the results is being developed and will be discussed.