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CORSIKA 8: A General Framework for Particle Cascade Simulations

Fuente: arXiv

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Main Authors:	Alameddine, J. M., Albrecht, J., Alves Jr., A. A, Ammerman-Yebra, J., Arrabito, L., Baack, D., Coleman, A., Deaconu, C., Dembinski, H., Elsässer, D., Engel, R., Faure, A., Ferrari, A., Gaudu, C., Glaser, C., Gottowik, M., Heck, D., Huege, T., Kampert, K. H., Karastathis, N., Lazar, J., Nellen, L., Parello, D., Pierog, T, Prechelt, R., Privara, R., Reininghaus, M., Rhode, W., Riehn, F., Sackel, M., Sampathkumar, P., Sandrock, A., Schmidt, A., Soedingrekso, J., Ulrich, R., Windischhofer, P., Yue, B.
Format:	Preprint
Published:	2026
Subjects:	Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Online Access:	Acceder al recurso
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_version_	1866917380178837504
author	Alameddine, J. M. Albrecht, J. Alves Jr., A. A Ammerman-Yebra, J. Arrabito, L. Baack, D. Coleman, A. Deaconu, C. Dembinski, H. Elsässer, D. Engel, R. Faure, A. Ferrari, A. Gaudu, C. Glaser, C. Gottowik, M. Heck, D. Huege, T. Kampert, K. H. Karastathis, N. Lazar, J. Nellen, L. Parello, D. Pierog, T Prechelt, R. Privara, R. Reininghaus, M. Rhode, W. Riehn, F. Sackel, M. Sampathkumar, P. Sandrock, A. Schmidt, A. Soedingrekso, J. Ulrich, R. Windischhofer, P. Yue, B.
author_facet	Alameddine, J. M. Albrecht, J. Alves Jr., A. A Ammerman-Yebra, J. Arrabito, L. Baack, D. Coleman, A. Deaconu, C. Dembinski, H. Elsässer, D. Engel, R. Faure, A. Ferrari, A. Gaudu, C. Glaser, C. Gottowik, M. Heck, D. Huege, T. Kampert, K. H. Karastathis, N. Lazar, J. Nellen, L. Parello, D. Pierog, T Prechelt, R. Privara, R. Reininghaus, M. Rhode, W. Riehn, F. Sackel, M. Sampathkumar, P. Sandrock, A. Schmidt, A. Soedingrekso, J. Ulrich, R. Windischhofer, P. Yue, B.
contents	The simulation of extensive air showers and particle cascades in general is a cornerstone of modern astroparticle physics. For more than two decades, CORSIKA, currently in version 7, has been one of the most widely used tools for this purpose. However, its architecture reflects design constraints of an earlier computing era, as well as increasingly limiting extensibility, maintainability, and adaptability to modern experimental requirements. CORSIKA 8 is a complete redesign of the original CORSIKA code, implemented in modern C++ and based on contemporary software engineering principles. It introduces a modular and extensible simulation framework with explicit handling of units, flexible geometry, and environment descriptions. In this paper, we present the design philosophy and core architecture of CORSIKA 8, describe the implementation of electromagnetic and hadronic shower physics, and validate air shower simulations against CORSIKA 7. The results demonstrate good agreement at the few-percent level for key observables, confirming the physics fidelity of CORSIKA 8. We also showcase new use cases that were beyond the capabilities of version 7, such as the simulation of cross-media showers and particle cascades in ice, including radio-signal propagation
format	Preprint
id	arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_01850
institution	arXiv
publishDate	2026
record_format	arxiv
spellingShingle	CORSIKA 8: A General Framework for Particle Cascade Simulations Alameddine, J. M. Albrecht, J. Alves Jr., A. A Ammerman-Yebra, J. Arrabito, L. Baack, D. Coleman, A. Deaconu, C. Dembinski, H. Elsässer, D. Engel, R. Faure, A. Ferrari, A. Gaudu, C. Glaser, C. Gottowik, M. Heck, D. Huege, T. Kampert, K. H. Karastathis, N. Lazar, J. Nellen, L. Parello, D. Pierog, T Prechelt, R. Privara, R. Reininghaus, M. Rhode, W. Riehn, F. Sackel, M. Sampathkumar, P. Sandrock, A. Schmidt, A. Soedingrekso, J. Ulrich, R. Windischhofer, P. Yue, B. Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena The simulation of extensive air showers and particle cascades in general is a cornerstone of modern astroparticle physics. For more than two decades, CORSIKA, currently in version 7, has been one of the most widely used tools for this purpose. However, its architecture reflects design constraints of an earlier computing era, as well as increasingly limiting extensibility, maintainability, and adaptability to modern experimental requirements. CORSIKA 8 is a complete redesign of the original CORSIKA code, implemented in modern C++ and based on contemporary software engineering principles. It introduces a modular and extensible simulation framework with explicit handling of units, flexible geometry, and environment descriptions. In this paper, we present the design philosophy and core architecture of CORSIKA 8, describe the implementation of electromagnetic and hadronic shower physics, and validate air shower simulations against CORSIKA 7. The results demonstrate good agreement at the few-percent level for key observables, confirming the physics fidelity of CORSIKA 8. We also showcase new use cases that were beyond the capabilities of version 7, such as the simulation of cross-media showers and particle cascades in ice, including radio-signal propagation
title	CORSIKA 8: A General Framework for Particle Cascade Simulations
topic	Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url	https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01850