Study of neutron-induced background hits in the CMS endcap muon system

Among the many challenges arising from the high luminosities of the HL-LHC is the impact of increased hit rates in the cathode strip chambers of the CMS endcap muon system. These chambers detect muons as part of the CMS muon trigger, and their data is used offline for muon track reconstruction. Neutrons (both fast and thermal) induce background hits via nuclear interactions and capture, followed by gamma emission and (mainly) Compton scatter off electrons that subsequently ionize the chamber gas. This note presents recent efforts to improve the understanding of such neutron-induced background through detailed comparison of CMS pp collision data and GEANT4 simulation.