Re-engineering a nanodosimetry Monte Carlo code into Geant4: software design and first results

A set of physics models for nanodosimetry simulation is being re-engineered for use in Geant4-based simulations. This extension of Geant4 capabilities is part of a larger scale R&D project for multi-scale simulation involving adaptable, co-working condensed and discrete transport schemes. The project in progress reengineers the physics modeling capabilities associated with an existing FORTRAN track-structure code for nanodosimetry into a software design suitable to collaborate with an object oriented simulation kernel. The first experience and results of the ongoing re-engineering process are presented.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures and images, to appear in proceedings of the Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference 2009, Orland

Publication patterns in HEP computing

An overview of the evolution of computing-oriented publications in high energy physics following the start of operation of LHC. Quantitative analyses are illustrated, which document the production of scholarly papers on computing-related topics by high energy physics experiments and core tools projects, and the citations they receive. Several scientometric indicators are analyzed to characterize the role of computing in high energy physics literature. Distinctive features of software-oriented and hardware-oriented scholarly publications are highlighted. Current patterns and trends are compared to the situation in previous generations' experiments.Comment: To be published in the Proc. of CHEP (Computing in High Energy Physics) 201

Scholarly literature and the press: scientific impact and social perception of physics computing

The broad coverage of the search for the Higgs boson in the mainstream media is a relative novelty for high energy physics (HEP) research, whose achievements have traditionally been limited to scholarly literature. This paper illustrates the results of a scientometric analysis of HEP computing in scientific literature, institutional media and the press, and a comparative overview of similar metrics concerning representative particle physics measurements. The picture emerging from these scientometric data documents the scientific impact and social perception of HEP computing. The results of this analysis suggest that improved communication of the scientific and social role of HEP computing would be beneficial to the high energy physics community.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of CHEP 2013 (Computing in High Energy Physics

‘Walking ... just walking’: how children and young people’s everyday pedestrian practices matter

In this paper we consider the importance of ‘walking… just walking’ for many children and young people’s everyday lives. We will show how, in our research with 175 9-16-year-olds living in new urban developments in south-east England, some particular (daily, taken-for-granted, ostensibly aimless) forms of walking were central to the lives, experiences and friendships of most children and young people. The main body of the paper highlights key characteristics of these walking practices, and their constitutive role in these children and young people’s social and cultural geography. Over the course of the paper we will argue that ‘everyday pedestrian practices’ (after Middleton 2010, 2011) like these require us to think critically about two bodies of geographical and social scientific research. On one hand, we will argue that the large body of research on children’s spatial range and independent mobility could be conceptually enlivened and extended to acknowledge bodily, social, sociotechnical and habitual practices. On the other hand, we will suggest that the empirical details of such practices should prompt critical reflection upon the wonderfully rich, multidisciplinary vein of conceptualisation latterly termed ‘new walking studies’ (Lorimer 2011). Indeed, in conclusion we shall argue that the theoretical vivacity of walking studies, and the concerns of more applied empirical approaches such as work on children’s independent mobility, could productively be interrelated. In so doing we open out a wider challenge to social and cultural geographers, to expedite this kind of interrelation in other research contexts

The treatment of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycaemia in adults: an update

Treatment of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycaemia (HH) is challenging due to the rarity of this condition and the difficulty of differential diagnosis. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the recent literature on the management of adult HH

The impact of Monte Carlo simulation: a scientometric analysis of scholarly literature

A scientometric analysis of Monte Carlo simulation and Monte Carlo codes has been performed over a set of representative scholarly journals related to radiation physics. The results of this study are reported and discussed. They document and quantitatively appraise the role of Monte Carlo methods and codes in scientific research and engineering applications.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in proceedings of the Joint International Conference on Supercomputing in Nuclear Applications and Monte Carlo 2010 (SNA + MC2010

Direct Wavelet Expansion of the Primordial Power Spectrum

In order to constrain and possibly detect unusual physics during inflation, we allow the power spectrum of primordial matter density fluctuations, P_{in}(k), to be an arbitrary function in the estimation of cosmological parameters from data. The multi-resolution and good localization properties of orthogonal wavelets make them suitable for detecting features in P_{in}(k). We expand P_{in}(k) directly in wavelet basis functions. The likelihood of the data is thus a function of the wavelet coefficients of P_{in}(k), as well as the H_0, \Omega_b h^2, $\Omega_c h^2 and the \tau_{ri}, in a flat$\Lambda$CDM cosmology. We derive constraints on these parameters from CMB anisotropy data (WMAP, CBI, and ACBAR) and large scale structure (LSS) data (2dFGRS and PSCZ) using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique. The direct wavelet expansion method is different and complimentary to the wavelet band power method of Mukherjee & Wang (2003a,b), and results from the two methods are consistent. In addition, as we demonstrate, the direct wavelet expansion method has the advantage that once the wavelet coefficients have been constrained, the reconstruction of P_{in}(k) can be effectively denoised, i.e., P_{in}(k) can be reconstructed using only the coefficients that, say, deviate from zero at greater than 1\sigma. In doing so the essential properties of P_{in}(k) are retained. The reconstruction also suffers much less from the correlated errors of binning methods. The shape of the primordial power spectrum, as reconstructed in detail here, reveals an interesting new feature at 0.001 \la k/{Mpc}^{-1} \la 0.005. It will be interesting to see if this feature is confirmed by future data. The reconstructed and denoised P_{in}(k) is favored over the scale-invariant and power-law forms at \ga 1\sigma.Comment: ApJ accepted. Color figures available upon request from [email protected]

Writing software or writing scientific articles?

An analysis of publications related to high energy physics computing in refereed journals is presented. The distribution of papers associated to various fields of computing relevant to high energy physics is critically analyzed. The relative publication rate of software papers is evaluated in comparison to other closely related physics disciplines, such as nuclear physics, radiation protection and medical physics, and to hardware publications. The results hint to the fact that, in spite of the significant effort invested in high energy physics computing and its fundamental role in the experiments, this research area is underrepresented in scientific literature; nevertheless the analysis of citations highlights the significant impact of software publications in experimental research