NuRadioMC: simulating the radio emission of neutrinos from interaction to detector

• Main Authors: C. Glaser, D. García-Fernández, A. Nelles, J. Alvarez-Muñiz, S. W. Barwick, D. Z. Besson, B. A. Clark, A. Connolly, C. Deaconu, K. D. de Vries, J. C. Hanson, B. Hokanson-Fasig, R. Lahmann, U. Latif, S. A. Kleinfelder, C. Persichilli, Y. Pan, C. Pfendner, I. Plaisier, D. Seckel, J. Torres, S. Toscano, N. van Eijndhoven, A. Vieregg, C. Welling, T. Winchen, S. A. Wissel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2020-01-01
• Series: European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7612-8

Abstract NuRadioMC is a Monte Carlo framework designed to simulate ultra-high energy neutrino detectors that rely on the radio detection method. This method exploits the radio emission generated in the electromagnetic component of a particle shower following a neutrino interaction. NuRadioMC simulates everything from the neutrino interaction in a medium, the subsequent Askaryan radio emission, the propagation of the radio signal to the detector and finally the detector response. NuRadioMC is designed as a modern, modular Python-based framework, combining flexibility in detector design with user-friendliness. It includes a state-of-the-art event generator, an improved modelling of the radio emission, a revisited approach to signal propagation and increased flexibility and precision in the detector simulation. This paper focuses on the implemented physics processes and their implications for detector design. A variety of models and parameterizations for the radio emission of neutrino-induced showers are compared and reviewed. Comprehensive examples are used to discuss the capabilities of the code and different aspects of instrumental design decisions.