Simulation-based performance study of the neutron calorimeter for the compressed baryonic matter experiment

The Neutron Calorimeter (NCAL), a new detector for the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR, is designed to improve collision centrality and collective flow measurements in heavy-ion collisions while expanding CBM’s physics scope by covering elementary particle interactions, such as proton-proton collisions. This study presents a performance evaluation of the NCAL system using Geant4 simulations, covering an energy range of 1 MeV to 10 GeV for neutrons and protons, with an emphasis on energy transfer and deposition characteristics. Simulations demonstrated unique detector response characteristics for neutrons and protons. Based on our findings, we are developing techniques to improve particle identification and expand our overall understanding of the detector response. Experimental validation is currently in progress via several experiments already performed at the mini-CBM facility at GSI. This project facilitates the integration and commissioning of NCAL for the CBM experiment at FAIR, thereby enhancing its performance for a broad range of future physics observations.