View Image

MCNelectron is an open-source code for single-event Monte Carlo simulation of coupled electron-photon transport. MCNelectron uses ENDF/B-VII.1 library data (they are not included in the MCNelectron distribution package and must be downloaded from the National Nuclear Data Center, using the links provided in the MCNelectron user manual). MCNelectron implements constructive solid geometry on regions bounded by planes, spheres, circular cylinders and circular one-sheet cones. There are two versions of MCNelectron: the CPU-only version and the version with CUDA support (MCNelectron_CUDA). MCNelectron_CUDA can perform the so-called 'hybrid' computations, when both the central processing unit (CPU) and Nvidia graphics processing units (GPU) are employed in parallel. MCNelectron allows replacement of ENDF/B inner-shell impact ionization cross sections and differential cross sections of elastic scattering by more accurate datasets, which are also used in the PENELOPE code system. Without those replacements, the results obtained using MCNelectron are typically within 3% of the corresponding results obtained using MCNP6.1 in single-event mode. The CPU-only version of MCNelectron is typically faster than MCNP6.1.1 by a factor of 2 at identical simulation conditions (if MCNP6.1.1 is used in single-event mode only). MCNScript is an open-source dialog-based 'shell' program for running Monte Carlo simulations with MCNelectron, as well as for organizing MCNelectron input and output files and creating graphics rendering scripts for visualization of the simulation geometry and particle tracks. The raytracing scripts (file name extension .RT) created by MCNScript must be loaded by MGED (Multi-Device Geometry Editor - a part of the open-source software package BRL-CAD available from brlcad.org), which generates raytraced or wireframe images from 3D models using the constructive solid geometry technique.