No abstract

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,324 new measurements from 878 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 120 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on High Energy Soft QCD and Diffraction and one on the Determination of CKM Angles from B Hadrons. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 98 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 22 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print and as a web version optimized for use on phones as well as an Android app.

Backscattering is a sensitive probe of the accuracy of electron scattering algorithms implemented in Monte Carlo codes. The capability of the Geant4 toolkit to describe realistically the fraction of electrons backscattered from a target volume is extensively and quantitatively evaluated in comparison with experimental data retrieved from the literature. The validation test covers the energy range between approximately 100 eV and 20 MeV, and concerns a wide set of target elements. Multiple and single electron scattering models implemented in Geant4, as well as preassembled selections of physics models distributed within Geant4, are analyzed with statistical methods. The evaluations concern Geant4 versions from 9.1 to 10.1. Significant evolutions are observed over the range of Geant4 versions, not always in the direction of better compatibility with experiment. Goodness-of-fit tests complemented by categorical analysis tests identify a configuration based on Geant4 Urban multiple scattering model in Geant4 version 9.1 and a configuration based on single Coulomb scattering in Geant4 10.0 as the physics options best reproducing experimental data above a few tens of keV. At lower energies only single scattering demonstrates some capability to reproduce data down to a few keV. Recommended preassembled physics configurations appear incapable of describing electron backscattering compatible with experiment. With the support of statistical methods, a correlation is established between the validation of Geant4-based simulation of backscattering and of energy deposition

Several total and partial photoionization cross section calculations, based on both theoretical and empirical approaches, are quantitatively evaluated with statistical analyses using a large collection of experimental data retrieved from the literature to identify the state of the art for modeling the photoelectric effect in Monte Carlo particle transport. Some of the examined cross section models are available in general purpose Monte Carlo systems, while others have been implemented and subjected to validation tests for the first time to estimate whether they could improve the accuracy of particle transport codes. The validation process identifies Scofield's 1973 non-relativistic calculations, tabulated in the Evaluated Photon Data Library (EPDL), as the one best reproducing experimental measurements of total cross sections. Specialized total cross section models, some of which derive from more recent calculations, do not provide significant improvements. Scofield's non-relativistic calculations are not surpassed regarding the compatibility with experiment of K and L shell photoionization cross sections either, although in a few test cases Ebel's parameterization produces more accurate results close to absorption edges. Modifications to Biggs and Lighthill's parameterization implemented in Geant4 significantly reduce the accuracy of total cross sections at low energies with respect to its original formulation. The scarcity of suitable experimental data hinders a similar extensive analysis for the simulation of the photoelectron angular distribution, which is limited to a qualitative appraisal.

Abstract-An analysis of publications related to high energy physics computing in refereed journals is presented. The distribution of papers associated to various fields of computing relevant to high energy physics is critically analyzed. The relative publication rate of software papers is evaluated in comparison to other closely related physics disciplines, such as nuclear physics, radiation protection and medical physics, and to hardware publications. The results hint to the fact that, in spite of the significant effort invested in high energy physics computing and its fundamental role in the experiments, this research area is underrepresented in scientific literature; nevertheless the analysis of citations highlights the significant impact of software publications in experimental research.