Bismuth-207 Purity Monitor

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Project Structure
• Contributing
• Acknowledgements

Introduction

Bismuth-207 Purity Monitor is a comprehensive simulation toolkit developed to model and analyze the behavior of Bismuth-207 radioactive sources within a cylindrical drift chamber-based purity monitor. Utilizing the powerful Geant4 framework, this project aims to provide accurate simulations of radioactive decay processes, electron emission, and their interactions within liquid argon (LAr) environments. The simulation is instrumental in assessing and ensuring the purity of LAr by measuring free electron lifetimes, which are critical for applications in particle physics experiments and dark matter detection.

Features

• Bismuth-207 Source Modeling: Accurately represents the geometry, encapsulation, and placement of (^{207}\text{Bi}) sources within the detector setup.
• Radioactive Decay Simulation: Utilizes Geant4's built-in radioactive decay capabilities to simulate decay processes, including emission of internal-conversion (IC) electrons and gamma rays.
• Dynamic Activity Configuration: Allows setting and adjusting the activity levels of the radioactive sources to study various operational scenarios.
• Visualization Support: Integrated with Geant4's visualization tools to render and inspect the detector geometry and decay events.
• Modular Physics List: Customizable physics list incorporating necessary processes for accurate simulation of particle interactions and decays.
• Scalable Simulation Parameters: Supports simulations with varying drift lengths and detector configurations to optimize sensitivity and measurement ranges.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows (with appropriate environment setup)
• Compiler: GCC (version 7.5 or higher) or Clang
• CMake: Version 3.10 or higher
• Geant4: Version 11.3.0 or higher (with G4RadioactiveDecay component)

Steps

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/rohit-email/Bismuth-207-Purity-Monitor.git
   cd Bismuth-207-Purity-Monitor

2. Set Up Geant4 Environment:

   Ensure that Geant4 is installed and its environment variables are correctly set. You can source the Geant4 environment script:

   source /path/to/geant4-install/bin/geant4.sh

3. Create a Build Directory:

   mkdir build
   cd build

4. Configure the Project with CMake:

   cmake ..

   If Geant4 is installed in a non-standard location, specify the Geant4 installation path:

   cmake -DGeant4_DIR=/path/to/geant4-install/lib/Geant4-11.3.0 ../

5. Build the Project:

   make

6. Verify the Installation:

   After a successful build, an executable named BismuthPurityMonitor (or as specified) will be available in the build directory.

Usage

Running the Simulation

1. Navigate to the Executable Directory:

   cd build/bin

2. Prepare a Visualization Macro (vis.mac):

   Ensure that a vis.mac file is present with appropriate visualization commands. An example vis.mac is provided in the repository.

3. Execute the Simulation:

   ./BismuthPurityMonitor

   This will launch the Geant4 simulation with visualization support. The simulation parameters, such as activity and simulation time, can be adjusted in the main.cc file or via command-line arguments/macro files as implemented.

Configuring Simulation Parameters

• Activity Setting:

  Modify the activity_kBq and simulationTime_s variables in main.cc to set the desired source activity and simulation duration.

• Detector Configuration:

  Adjust detector geometry parameters in DetectorConstruction.cc to model different detector setups or source placements.

Project Structure

• CMakeLists.txt: CMake configuration file for building the project.
• README.md: Project documentation.
• LICENSE: License information.
• include/: Header files defining classes and interfaces.
• src/: Source files implementing the simulation logic.
• vis.mac: Geant4 macro file for visualization settings.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's reporting bugs, suggesting enhancements, or submitting pull requests, your input is invaluable to improving the project.

How to Contribute

1. Fork the Repository:

   Click the "Fork" button on the GitHub repository page to create a personal copy.

2. Clone Your Fork:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/Bismuth-207-Purity-Monitor.git
   cd Bismuth-207-Purity-Monitor

3. Create a Feature Branch:

   git checkout -b feature/YourFeatureName

4. Make Your Changes:

   Implement your feature or fix.

5. Commit Your Changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Add feature: YourFeatureName"

6. Push to Your Fork:

   git push origin feature/YourFeatureName

7. Create a Pull Request:

   Navigate to the original repository and submit a pull request from your feature branch.

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Acknowledgements

• Geant4 Collaboration: For providing a robust framework for particle simulations.
• Open-Source Community: For numerous libraries and tools that made this project possible.
• CERN and University of Texas at Arlington: For supporting this research and development.

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