CORSIKA 8 Workshop 2023

Europe/Berlin
Room 410, Building 401 (KIT Campus North)

Room 410, Building 401

KIT Campus North

Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
Tanguy Pierog (IKP, KIT), Tim Huege (KIT)
Description

A workshop to discuss the technology and science of particle-shower simulations with CORSIKA 8, and meeting of CORSIKA 8 developers and developers-to-be.

Picture of the participants of the CORSIKA 8 workshop in Karlsruhe in June 2023.

Participants
  • Adolfo Garza
  • Alan Coleman
  • Alexander Sandrock
  • Alfredo Ferrari
  • Alice Faure
  • Amit Pal
  • Antonio Augusto Alves Junior
  • Caterina Trimarelli
  • Chao Zhang
  • Chloé Gaudu
  • Daniel Morcuende
  • Dmitriy Kostunin
  • Dominik Baack
  • Eva Santos
  • Fan Hu
  • felix riehn
  • Frank Polgart
  • Gina Isar
  • Hualin Mei
  • Jean-Marco Alameddine
  • Jesús santamaria
  • Juan Ammerman-Yebra
  • Konrad Bernlöhr
  • luisa Arrabito
  • Lukas Nellen
  • Marius Utheim
  • Maximilian Reininghaus
  • Michael Elias Windau
  • Michael Schmelling
  • Nikos Karastathis
  • Oleksandr Sushchov
  • Orel Gueta
  • Oscar Morales
  • Pedro Henrique Morais
  • Pranav Sampathkumar
  • Ralf Ulrich
  • Ralph Engel
  • Reda Attallah
  • SUBHADIP SAHA
  • Tanguy Pierog
  • Tim Huege
  • TOSCANO Raphaël
  • Uzair Latif
    • Organisational: Welcome Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen

      Welcome and organisational topics

      Convener: Tim Huege (KIT)
    • ICRC: ICRC Contributions Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      Convener: Tim Huege (KIT)
      • 2
        Validation of Electromagnetic Showers in CORSIKA 8 (talk)

        The air shower simulation code CORSIKA has served as a key part of the simulation chain for numerous astroparticle physics experiments over the past decades. Due to retirement of the original developers and the increasingly difficult maintenance of the monolithic Fortran code of CORSIKA, a new air shower simulation framework has been developed over the course of the last years in C++, called CORSIKA 8.Besides the hadronic and muonic component, the electromagnetic component is one of the key constituents of an air shower. The cascade producing the electromagnetic component of an air shower is driven by bremsstrahlung and photoproduction of electron-positron pairs. At ultrahigh energies or in media with large densities, the bremsstrahlung and pair production processes are suppressed by the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect, which leads to more elongated showers compared to showers without the LPM suppression. Furthermore, photons at higher energies can produce muon pairs or interact hadronically with nucleons in the target medium, producing a muon component in electromagnetic air showers.In this contribution, we compare electromagnetic showers simulated with the latest Fortran version of CORSIKA and CORSIKA 8, which uses the library PROPOSAL for the electromagnetic component. While earlier validations of CORSIKA 8 electromagnetic showers focused on showers of lower energy, the recent implementation of the LPM effect, photo pair production of muons, and of photohadronic interactions allows now to make a physics-complete comparison also at high energies.

        Speaker: Alexander Sandrock (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)
      • 3
        Simulating radio emission from air showers with CORSIKA 8 (poster)

        CORSIKA 8 is a new framework for air shower simulations implemented in modern C++17, based on past experience with existing codes like CORSIKA 7. The flexible and modular structure of the project allows the development of independent modules that can produce a fully customizable air shower simulation. The radio module in particular is designed to treat the signal propagation and electric field calculation to each antenna in an autonomous and flexible way. It provides the possibility to simulate simultaneously the radio emission calculated with two independent time-domain formalisms, the “Endpoint formalism” as implemented in CoREAS and the “ZHS” algorithm as ported from ZHAireS. Future development for the simulation of radio emission from particle showers in complex scenarios, for example cross-media showers penetrating from air into ice, can build on the existing radio module, re-using the established interfaces.
        In this work, we will present the design and implementation of the radio module in CORSIKA 8, and show a direct comparison of radio emission from air showers simulated with CORSIKA 8, CORSIKA 7 and ZHAireS.

        Speaker: Nikos Karastathis (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
      • 4
        Simulations of cross media showers with CORSIKA 8 (poster)

        The CORSIKA 8 project aims to develop a versatile and modern framework for particle shower simulations that meets the new needs of experiments and addresses the caveats of existing codes. Of particular relevance is the ability to compute particle showers that pass through two or more different media, of varying density, in a single run within a single code. CORSIKA 8 achieves this flexibility by using a volume tree that specifies volume containment, allowing one to quickly query to which medium a point belongs. Thanks to this design we are able to construct very specific environments with different geometries and media. As an example, we demonstrate this new functionality by running particle showers penetrating from air into Antarctic ice and validating them with a combination of the well-established CORSIKA 7 and Geant 4 codes.

        Speaker: Juan Ammerman-Yebra (IGFAE, University of Santiago de Compostela)
      • 5
        Comparison and efficiency of GPU accelerated optical light propagation with CORSIKA8 (talk)

        AI accelerators have proliferated in data centers in recent years and are now almost ubiquitous. In addition, their computational power and, most importantly, their energy efficiency are up to orders of magnitude higher than that of traditional computing. Over the last years, various methods and optimizations have been tested to use these hybrid systems for simulations in the context of astroparticle physics utilizing CORSIKA.
        The main focus of this talk is the propagation of optical, i.e. fluorescence and Cherenkov, photons through low density inhomogeneous media in the context of the next generation CORSIKA8 simulation framework. Different techniques used and approximations, e.g. the atmospheric model, tested during the development will be presented. The trade-off between performance and precision allows the experiment to achieve its physical precision limited to the real resolution of the experiment and not invest power and time in vanishing precision gains. The additional comparison of classical CPU-based simulations with the new methods validates these methods and allows evaluation against a known baseline.

        Speaker: Dominik Baack (TU Dortmund)
      • 6
        Parallel processing of radio signals and detector arrays in CORSIKA 8 (talk)

        This contribution describes some recent advances in the parallelization of the generation and processing of radio signals emitted by particle showers in CORSIKA 8. CORSIKA 8 is a Monte Carlo simulation framework for modeling ultra-high energy secondary particle cascades in astroparticle physics.
        The aspects associated with the generation and processing of radio signals in antennas arrays are reviewed, focusing on the key design opportunities and constraints for deployment of multiple threads on such calculations. The audience is also introduced to Gyges, a lightweight, header-only and flexible multithread self-adaptive scheduler written compliant with C++17 and C++20, which is used to distribute and manage the worker computer threads during the parallel calculations. Finally, performance and scalability measurements are provided and the integration into CORSIKA 8 is commented.

        Speaker: Dr Antonio Augusto Alves Junior (KIT-IKP)
      • 7
        The particle-shower simulation code CORSIKA 8 (talk)

        CORSIKA up to version 7 has been the most-used Monte Carlo code for simulating extensive air showers for more than 20 years. Due to its monolithic, Fortran-based software design and hand-optimized code, however, it has become difficult to maintain, adapt to new computing paradigms and extend for more complex simulation needs. These limitations led to the CORSIKA 8 project, which constitutes a complete rewrite of the CORSIKA 7 core functionality in a modern, modular C++ framework. CORSIKA 8 has now reached a state that we consider ``physics-complete'' and a stability that already allows experts to engage in development for specific applications. It already supports the treatment of hadronic interactions with Sibyll 2.3d, QGSJetII-04, EPOS-LHC and Pythia 8.3 and the treatment of the electromagnetic cascade with PROPOSAL 7.6. Particular highlights are the support for multiple interaction media, including cross-media particle showers, and an advanced calculation of the radio emission from particle showers. In this contribution, we discuss the design principles of CORSIKA 8, give an overview of the functionality implemented to date, the validation of its simulation results, and the plans for its further development.

        Speaker: Tim Huege (KIT)
    • Break: Lunch Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Miscellaneous: Developments relevant for C8 Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 8
        Monte Carlo generator tuning for cosmic-ray induced air shower simulations

        Monte Carlo (MC) generators are a fundamental tool in particle and astroparticle physics. To achieve a high-quality simulation of physical processes involving hadrons, the hadronic interaction model of the generator must be tuned efficiently. The free parameters of MC generators are optimized with the help of experimental data and Bayesian methods.

        One area of application for MC generators is the simulation of cosmic-ray induced air showers in the Earth’s atmosphere. Since hadronic interactions have a direct influence on the composition of secondary particles in the shower formations, tuning the parameters of these hadronic models has an impact on crucial observables such as the muon number.

        In this talk, studies on the tuning of Monte Carlo generators for cosmic-ray induced air showers are presented.

        Speaker: Michael Windau
      • 9
        Generic hadron-ion collisions in Pythia/Angantyr

        In this talk I will present a new model for hadron-ion collisions in Pythia8/Angantyr, for generic hadron species. This work also includes a feature to change the hadron species and energies on an event-by-event basis, which is particularly important for applications to hadronic showers. The basic features of the model are tested by comparing to photoproduction data from HERA, UPC data from ATLAS, and pion-carbon scattering data from NA61/SHINE.

        Speaker: Utheim Marius (University of Jyväskylä)
      • 10
        New developments in FLUKA with relevance to C7/C8
        • what was done recently
        • what options might it open for the future
        Speaker: Alfredo Ferrari (KIT)
    • Break: Coffee Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Hands-on: C8 tutorial Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Radio Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 12
        Progress on the radio module

        The latest propagators are going to be introduced along with signal pulse comparisons between the latest version of C8, C7 and ZHAireS. This presentation should serve as preliminary results for the corresponding ICRC 2023 contribution.

        Speaker: Nikos Karastathis (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
      • 13
        Simulation of radio signals from cosmic-ray cascades in air and ice as observed by in-ice Askaryan radio detectors

        To detect the cosmic neutrino flux at the highest energies, Askaryan radio detectors are being deployed in the polar regions. These detectors use the radio detection technique to cover multi-gigaton detection volumes to probe neutrino interactions in the polar ice. Cosmic ray showers can serve as essential calibration sources for in-ice Askrayan radio detectors. However, if not well understood, radio emissions from cosmic ray showers pose an essential background signal in the neutrino search. The neutrino signal is almost perfectly mimicked by cosmic-ray particle cascades moving from air to ice. We present a simulation framework to model the radio emissions from cosmic-ray showers by combining the in-air and in-ice radio emission frameworks to fully characterize the cosmic-ray radio signal as observed by the in-ice antennas. The framework involves a CoREAS-based code to simulate in-air radio emissions and a GEANT4-based code for in-ice radio emissions from cosmic-ray showers as seen by an in-ice antenna. The cosmic-ray shower particles that reach the ice surface at the end of the CORSIKA 7 simulation are injected into the GEANT4-based shower simulation code that takes the cosmic-ray shower particles and propagates them further into the ice sheet. The CoREAS-based and the GEANT4-based codes have been adapted to account for curved ray paths caused by the exponential refractive index profiles of air and ice. We will also discuss possible ways to port this framework into CORSIKA 8.

        Speaker: Uzair Latif
      • 14
        Generalizing the signal propagator interfaces for in-ice radio
        • summarize state of discussion and continue from there
        Speaker: Tim Huege (KIT)
    • Break: Coffee Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Light emission Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 15
        Extended Talk about Cherenkov and Process Sequence

        If needed, I can do an extended talk about Cherenkov light production.
        Code should be available until then in a branch.

        Speaker: Dominik Baack (TU Dortmund)
      • 16
        Fluorescence light emission in CORSIKA 8

        Air fluorescence has been usually neglected in current IACTs and wide-angle timing air Cherenkov detectors as the fluorescence light component is emitted isotropically and with a lower light yield than the Cherenkov component. However, next-generation km-scale arrays will register signals from air showers at impact distances where both light components start to be comparable. In order to take into account the fluorescence light in shower reconstruction, we need Monte Carlo simulations. Following the implementation we did in CORSIKA 7, we aim to also develop the emission of air fluorescence in the new CORSIKA 8 framework. As a starting point, we can share the FORTRAN routines we implemented in CORISKA 7 as a stand-alone piece of code. We will discuss the aspects needed to make this implementation possible, such as the tracking of charged particles, corresponding deposited energy, and tabulated atmosphere.

        Speaker: Daniel Morcuende (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
    • Miscellaneous Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Break: Lunch Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Status Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 18
        Neutrino simulations with CORSIKA 8

        Work done so far

        Speaker: Fan Hu (Peiking University)
      • 19
        Improvements in the EM cascade

        Improvements since last workshop
        Remaining issues?

        Speaker: Jean-Marco Alameddine (Technische Universität Dortmund)
      • 20
        Status of photohadronic interactions

        Improvements since the last workshop
        State of things
        Possible further work

        Speaker: felix riehn (lip)
      • 21
        Thinning implementation in C8
        • state of things
        • validation
        Speaker: Maximilian Reininghaus (KIT / IAP)
    • Break: Coffee Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Hands-on: Work in smaller groups Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Social: Dinner at Restaurant "Panorama", Kantstraße 12 (near Kolpingplatz)
    • Discussions: Ongoing work Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 22
        Build system improvements
        • migrating to conan 2
        • other options
        Speaker: Lukas Nellen (I de CIencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)
      • 23
        Current performance of C8
        • runtimes without/with radio (for similar showers)
        Speaker: Nikos Karastathis (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
      • 24
        Simulation Steering
        • status and way forward
        Speaker: Dominik Baack (TU Dortmund)
    • Break Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Discussions: Ongoing work Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 25
        Deployment strategy
        • containerisation, ...
        Speaker: Lukas Nellen (I de CIencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)
      • 26
        Some thougths on C7/C8 virtualization

        Recently I had a need to run CORSIKA in isolated environment due to its bundling with my legacy code in Python 2.7. To solve this issue I used docker virtualization to build custom CORSIKA docker image and docker-compose for its combination with other services. I would like to share my experience and discuss creation of official C7/C8 docker images provided to community.

        Speaker: Dmitriy Kostunin (DESY)
      • 27
        Continuous integration
        • status and how to improve
        Speaker: Dr Lukas Nellen (I de CIencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)
    • Break: Lunch Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Hands-on: Work in smaller groups Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Discussions: Various topics Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 28
        Status of C8 reference paper: hadrons/muons
        • up-to-date comparions between C8 and others w.r.t. hadrons/muons
        • general overview about progress on C8 paper
        Speaker: Maximilian Reininghaus (KIT / IAP)
      • 29
        Output format discussions
        • different options
        Speaker: Tim Huege (KIT)
    • Break: Coffee Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Discussions: Project matters Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
      • 30
        Roadmap towards a release
        • timeline and milestone
        Speaker: Tim Huege (KIT)
      • 31
        Project matters
        • organizational aspects
        • author list?
        Speaker: Tim Huege (KIT)
    • Break: Lunch Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Hands-on: Work in smaller groups Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    • Organisational: Wrap-Up & Goodbye Room 410, Building 401

      Room 410, Building 401

      KIT Campus North

      Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen

      Welcome and organisational topics