0 NUEN689 S2013 ClassOverview

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NUEN 689Intro to GEANT4

Lecturers: Gamal Akabani, Jonathan Madsen

Spring 2013


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Class Overview

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GEANT4 is an open-source code for the simulation

of the passage of particles through matter

Not limited to particle physics, G4DNA is currently

including chemistry for the transport of radicals andsolvated electrons

Main site: http://geant4.cern.ch

Download:

http://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/support/download.shtml
http://geant4.cern.ch/http://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/support/download.shtmlhttp://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/support/download.shtmlhttp://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/support/download.shtmlhttp://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/support/download.shtmlhttp://geant4.cern.ch/


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Class Overview

Lecturers:

Dr. Akabani

Brought GEANT4 to Texas A&M by hosting GEANT4

tutorial in the winter of 2010

Jonathan Madsen

Geant4 Collaboration Member

Became a member of the Low Energy Electromagnetic Physics

Group in 2012

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Class Overview

The projects in the labs will involve

Writing simple programs (in pure C++)

Manipulating programs or adding functionality to

programs Ive provided Building a GEANT4 project

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C++

We will start out reviewing/learning C++

Some think the syntax is ugly at first it is

I am a self-taught C++ programmer

I have learned from studying examples and others

peoples codes, reading C++ books on general C++ and

optimization, utilizing forums, etc.

I will teach you the best way I know how and the best

way I think you should learn with Geant4 in mind

Feel free to jump in if you know C++ and think I should

address something I have not yet

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C++

Please feel free to ask me to elaborate on

anything when we are learning C++ and

provide context to where and when you will

use what I am currently teaching

This is the first time I have had set out to

actually teach C++ so if I gloss over anything,

STOP me

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GEANT4

Once we get into GEANT4 (~week 4), I will expect you

to have GEANT4 working by that time

Sometime in the first few weeks, get it installed and

compile and run an example or two There are some good manuals on the Geant4 website

Ill explain the basics then try to install it yourself, consult

the manuals, and only come to me when you are about to

slam your head into your desk Its how you learn these sort of things

Geant4 uses CMake, make sure you download and install it

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CMake

If you have a Mac, install MacPorts

Run sudo port install cmake to get CMake

If you are using a Linux distribution, you should already have

apt-get (or yum)

Run sudo apt-get install cmake to get CMake

If you are using Windows, there is a GUI for CMake but for

GEANT4, good luck (we dont do windows)

Ill help some but I dont use Windows and I kind of hate it

Side note: At the last Geant4 Collaboration meeting I went to, I did not

see a single person using Windows. They either had a Mac or were

running Linux. Windows is just a hassle, especially with Geant4

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GEANT4 Download

Only download the geant4 source files

Dont download the data files

These can be downloaded during installation

You can also download a pre-compiled library

I recommend build from source for customization

reasons

You can also download a Debian operatingsystem for VirtualBox pre-configured with

Geant4 from grove (in /scratch2/jmadsen/)

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Learning Geant4

Im not 100% sure how quickly some of Geant4

classes yall will pick up so the schedule on the

syllabus is a bit tentative, some weeks we might be

able to fit in 2-3 classes, others it might take 2-3weeks (like physics lists for example)

Projects will involve adding functionality to a GEANT4

program

Since, GEANT4 covers such a large variety of capabilities, I

would like to allow yall to dictate what kind of project you

would like to do

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G4 Projects

In other words, if you are interested in using

GEANT4 for a specific use:

Spallation

Detectors using optical photons

Low-energy Dosimetry

High-energy accelerator physics

I will create a set of project goals tailored forthose interests for you to work on throughout

the semester

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G4 Projects

If you have a SPECIFIC PROJECT, not just a

general use goal, I can accommodate that too

If you dont have a particular interest, Ill have

a general one too

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Documents

0 NUEN689 S2013 ClassOverview