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Forest_SimPart_Syllabus

The ability to simulate nature using a computer has become a useful skill for physicists who work in disciplines ranging from basic research to video games. This class will teach you these fundamentals using a practical approach, based on a specific UNIX based programming environment, to simulate fundamental physics processes ranging from ionization and the photoelectric effect to producing anti-matter.

Homework

Homework is due at the beginning of class on the assigned day. If you have a documented excuse for your absence, then you will have 24 hours to hand in the homework after released by your doctor.

Class Policies

http://wiki.iac.isu.edu/index.php/Forest_Class_Policies

Instructional Objectives

Course Catalog Description: Simulations of Particle Interactions with Matter 3 credits. Lecture course with monte-carlo computation requirements. Topics include: Stopping power, interactions of electrons and photons with matter, hadronic interactions, and radiation detection devices.

Prequisites:Math 3360. Phys 3301 or 5561.

Course Description: A practical course applying theoretical descriptions of fundamental particle interactions such as the photoelectric effect, compton scattering and pair production to describe multiple interactions of particles with matter using the montecarlo method. A software package known as GEANT from CERN will be used that is freely available under the UNIX environment. The course assumes that the student has very limited experience with the UNIX environment and no experience with GEANT. Homework problems involve modifying and compiling example programs written in C++. A final project is required in which the student chooses a process to compare the predictions of GEANT with experimental data. A report is written in a format that would be publishable in a scientific journal. Publishing the report is not required but left as an option for the student.