GEANT4-Based Model of the CREAM Timing Charge Scintillation Detector

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) instrument is a balloon-borne detector de- signed to measure the cosmic-ray spectrum in the 1-1000TeV energy range, with good charge resolution from protons to iron (Z = 1 to 26). The CREAM instrument has had two successful ights, both from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Antarctic summer campaigns, with a com- bined ight duration of approximately 70 days. The CREAM-I instrument consisted of a fast scintillation- based Timing Charge Detector (TCD), a Transition Radiation Detector and a sampling calorimeter. Here we describe a GEANT4-based model for a CREAM TCD scintillation counter, used in characterizing the charge and timing response of the counters to various incident particles. The model incorporates all counter components, including the scintillator, light guides and an approximation of the photomultiplier tube (PMT) readout. We compare the simulated output results to actual event signals.