The neutron instrument simulation package, NISP

The Neutron Instrument Simulation Package (NISP) performs complete source-to-detector simulations of neutron instruments, including neutrons that do not follow the expected path. The original user interface (MC_Web) is a web-based application, http://strider.lansce.lanl.gov/NISP/Welcome.html. This report describes in detail the newer standalone Windows version, NISP_Win. Instruments are assembled from menu-selected elements, including neutron sources, collimation and transport elements, samples, analyzers, and detectors. Magnetic field regions may also be specified for the propagation of polarized neutrons including spin precession. Either interface writes a geometry file that is used as input to the Monte Carlo engine (MC_Run) in the user's computer. Both the interface and the engine rely on a subroutine library, MCLIB. The package is completely open source. New features include capillary optics, temperature dependence of Al and Be, revised source files for ISIS, and visualization of neutron trajectories at run time. Also, a single-crystal sample type has been successfully imported from McStas (with more generalized geometry), demonstrating the capability of including algorithms from other sources, and NISP_Win may render the instrument in a virtual reality file. Results are shown for two instruments under development.