simtools-simulate-pedestals#

Simulate pedestal events.

Use sim_telarray to simulate pedestal events for an array of telescopes. The following types are supported:

Pedestal events (includes night-sky background and camera noise)
Dark pedestal events (closed camera lid, camera noise only)
NSB-only pedestal events (open camera lid, night-sky background only, no camera noise)

Example

Simulate pedestal events for Alpha North. The assumed level night-sky background is 2.0 times the nominal value. A list of stars can be provided to simulate additional contributions.

simtools-simulate-pedestals --run_mode=pedestals \\
    --run_number 10 --number_of_events 1000 \\
    --array_layout_name alpha --site North \\
    --model_version 6.0.0 \\
    --zenith_angle 20 --azimuth_angle 0 \\
    --nsb_scaling_factor 2.0

Command Line Arguments

run_mode (str, required): Run mode, e.g. “pedestals”
run_number (int, required): Run number for the simulation.
number_of_events (int, required): Number of calibration events to simulate.
array_layout_name (str, required): Array layout name, e.g. “alpha”.
site (str, required): Site name.
model_version (str, optional): Version of the simulation model.
nsb_scaling_factor (float, optional): Scaling factor for the night-sky background rate. Default is 1.0, which corresponds to the nominal (dark sky) NSB rate.
stars (str, optional): Path to a file containing a list of stars (azimuth, zenith, weighting factor separated by whitespace). If provided, the stars will be used to simulate additional contributions to the night-sky background. For details on the parameters, see the sim_telarray manual.
zenith_angle (float, optional): Zenith angle in degrees.
azimuth_angle (float, optional): Azimuth angle in degrees.

Command line arguments#

options#

–help

show this help message and exit

–run_mode

Calibration run mode

Required. Choices: pedestals, pedestals_dark, pedestals_nsb_only.

–number_of_events

Number of pedestal events to simulate

Required.

–nsb_scaling_factor

Scaling factor for the NSB rate. Default is 1.0, corresponding to the nominal (dark sky) NSB rate.

Default: 1.0.

–stars

List of stars (azimuth, zenith, weighting factor).

simulation model#

–model_version: Simulation production model version(s). Use –show_options model_version.
–overwrite_model_parameters: JSON string with model parameters to overwrite
–site: Observatory site (e.g., North, South). Use –show_options site.
–array_layout_name: Array layout name(s) (e.g., CTAO-North-Alpha, LSTN-01). Telescope names are assumed as single-telescope layouts. Use –show_options array_layout_name.
–array_element_list: list of array elements (e.g., LSTN-01, LSTN-02, MSTN).

simulation configuration#

–run_number

Run number to be simulated.

Default: 1.

–azimuth_angle

Telescope pointing direction in azimuth. It can be in degrees between 0 and 360 or one of north, south, east or west. North is 0 degrees and the azimuth grows clockwise (East is 90 degrees).

–zenith_angle

Zenith angle in degrees (between 0 and 180).

Default: 20.0 deg.

–instrument_seed

Seed of the random instrument setup (e.g. mirror deviations, gains); with several random instrument instances, their seeds are derived from it (default: random).

–random_instrument_instances

Number of random instrument instances (e.g. random mirror realisations).

Default: 1.

–simulation_seed

Seed of the simulation (events, photons) (default: random). Two values: [instrument_seed, simulation_seed] (use for testing only).

model repository#

–simulation_models_path: Path containing the simulation-model repository to read.
–simulation_models_git_path: Path to a local normal, bare, or mirror Git repository containing simulation models.
–simulation_models_git_revision: Git tag, ref, or commit to read from the simulation-model repository.

application#

–show_options: Print available values for a supported option and exit.

Examples#

Simulate North-array pedestal events#

Generate pedestal events for the North Alpha layout with electronics noise and twice the nominal NSB level.

Application: simtools-simulate-pedestals

Integration test: simulate_pedestals_20_deg_north.yml

Command

simtools-simulate-pedestals --config tests/integration_tests/config/simulate_pedestals_20_deg_north.yml

Configuration

run_mode: pedestals
array_layout_name:
  by_version:
    <7.0.0: alpha
    '>=7.0.0': CTAO-North-Alpha
label: test-pedestal-production-North
log_level: DEBUG
model_version: 7.0.0
number_of_events: 3
output_path: simtools-output
run_number: 10
random_instrument_instances: 100
site: North
azimuth_angle: 0.0
zenith_angle: 20
stars: null
nsb_scaling_factor: 2.0

Simulate dark-camera LST pedestals#

Generate North-LST pedestal events without night-sky background or photoelectron pulses.

Application: simtools-simulate-pedestals

Integration test: simulate_pedestals_dark_20_deg_north.yml

Command

simtools-simulate-pedestals --config tests/integration_tests/config/simulate_pedestals_dark_20_deg_north.yml

Configuration

run_mode: pedestals_dark
array_layout_name: LSTN-01
label: test-dark-pedestal-production-North
log_level: DEBUG
model_version: 7.0.0
number_of_events: 3
output_path: simtools-output
run_number: 10
random_instrument_instances: 100
site: North
azimuth_angle: 0.0
zenith_angle: 20
stars: null
nsb_scaling_factor: 1.0

Simulate NSB-only LST pedestals#

Generate North-LST pedestal events containing night-sky-background photoelectrons without electronics noise.

Application: simtools-simulate-pedestals

Integration test: simulate_pedestals_nsb_only_20_deg_north.yml

Command

simtools-simulate-pedestals --config tests/integration_tests/config/simulate_pedestals_nsb_only_20_deg_north.yml

Configuration

run_mode: pedestals_nsb_only
array_layout_name: LSTN-01
label: test-nsb-only-pedestal-production-North
log_level: DEBUG
model_version: 7.0.0
number_of_events: 10
output_path: simtools-output
run_number: 10
random_instrument_instances: 100
site: North
azimuth_angle: 0.0
zenith_angle: 20
stars: null
nsb_scaling_factor: 1.0