HGCal Simulation Analyses for CMS

This summer, I approached the topic of fast-timing detection of photons from Higgs decays via simulation analyses, working under the supervision of Dr. Adolf Bornheim of the California Institute of Technology. My specific project focused on simulating the high granularity calorimeter for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. CMS detects particles using calorimeters. The Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECal) is arranged cylindrically to form a barrel section and two “endcaps.” Previously, both the barrel and endcap have employed lead tungstate crystal detectors, known as the “shashlik” design. The crystal detectors, however, rapidly degrade from exposure to radiation. This effect is most pronounced in the endcaps. To avoid the high expense of frequently replacing degraded detectors, it was recently decided to eliminate the endcap crystals in favor of an arrangement of silicon detectors known as the “High Granularity Calorimeter” (HGCal), while leaving the barrel detector technology unchanged. The primary aim of my project was to investigate the performance of HGCal using a series of simulations and to compare the performance of the new silicon detectors in the endcap with the traditional crystal detectors in the barrel.