Inverse Autoregressive Flows for Zero Degree Calorimeter fast simulation
This work addresses the need for faster and more accurate particle shower simulations in high-energy physics experiments, representing an incremental improvement with specific gains.
The paper tackles the problem of accelerating simulations of the Zero Degree Calorimeter at CERN by introducing a novel loss function and scaling mechanism within a teacher-student generative framework using Normalizing Flows, resulting in models that are 421 times faster than existing implementations.
Physics-based machine learning blends traditional science with modern data-driven techniques. Rather than relying exclusively on empirical data or predefined equations, this methodology embeds domain knowledge directly into the learning process, resulting in models that are both more accurate and robust. We leverage this paradigm to accelerate simulations of the Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC) of the ALICE experiment at CERN. Our method introduces a novel loss function and an output variability-based scaling mechanism, which enhance the model's capability to accurately represent the spatial distribution and morphology of particle showers in detector outputs while mitigating the influence of rare artefacts on the training. Leveraging Normalizing Flows (NFs) in a teacher-student generative framework, we demonstrate that our approach not only outperforms classic data-driven model assimilation but also yields models that are 421 times faster than existing NF implementations in ZDC simulation literature.