CTAO Simulation Telescope Models for CORSIKA and sim_telarray - Prod6

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is the next-generation gamma-ray observatory under construction on the island of La Palma (Spain) and near Paranal (Chile). CTAO will cover a wide energy range and provide substantial improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution and energy resolution in comparison to any existing gamma-ray detector. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations enable the optimization of the instrument configuration and the estimation of observatory performance using realistic models of the telescope design. The CORSIKA air-shower simulation code and the sim_telarray code for simulation of arrays of Cherenkov telescopes are used for all CTAO Monte Carlo simulation productions.

This repository provides access to the simulation configuration describing the site parameters and the telescope simulation models required for the generation of the CTAO Instrument Response Functions based on the Prod6 observatory model (to be published).

In detail, these are:

telescope simulation models for each telescope type (Prod6 includes models for large-size, medium-size, and small-size telescopes)

CORSIKA input files defining (among others) site atmosphere, telescope positions, and interaction models;

execution scripts required to run CORSIKA and sim_telarray.

The CORSIKA air-shower simulation code is available from the Institute for Astroparticle Physics (KIT), see CORSIKA website. The sim_telarray telescope simulation program, auxilliary libraries, and common configuration files are available at the sim_telarray website, with an up-to-date interface to CORSIKA at the IACT/ATMO interface website. For installation, copy all relevant tar.gz packages plus the ‘build_all’ script into the same directory and run `./build_all prod6 qgs2` (see `–help` for more options). Note that CORSIKA 7.7550 requires the corsika-77550.patch file available in bernlohr-1.68.tar.gz. Runing without it would lead to run-time errors. Placing the patch file in the top level of the directory structure is enough for the `build_all` script to pick it up.

In cases for which the CTAO Simulation Telescope Models are used in a research project, we ask that the following acknowledgement is added in any resulting publication:

“This research has made use of the CTAO Simulation Telescope Models provided by the CTAO Central Organisation and Consortium (version prod6 v1.0; [a]).”

Please use the following BibTex Entry for [a] in the reference section of your publication: https://zenodo.org/records/14198379/export/bibtex

References:

[1] K.Bernlöhr, Simulation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes with CORSIKA and sim_telarray, Astroparticle Physics 30 (2008) 149–158; arXiv:0808.2253