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A local Monte Carlo framework for coherent QCD parton energy loss

Zapp, Korinna Christine LU ; Stachel, Johanna and Wiedemann, Urs Achim (2011) In Journal of High Energy Physics 2011(7).
Abstract
Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are the standard tool for describing jet-like multi-particle final states. To apply them to the simulation of medium-modified jets in heavy ion collisions, a probabilistic implementation of medium-induced quantum interference effects is needed. Here, we analyze in detail how the quantum interference effects included in the Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peigné-Schiff–Zakharov (BDMPS-Z) formalism of medium-induced gluon radiation can be implemented in a quantitatively controlled, local probabilistic parton cascade. The resulting MC algorithm is formulated in terms of elastic and inelastic mean free paths, and it is by construction insensitive to the IR and UV divergences of the total elastic and inelastic cross... (More)
Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are the standard tool for describing jet-like multi-particle final states. To apply them to the simulation of medium-modified jets in heavy ion collisions, a probabilistic implementation of medium-induced quantum interference effects is needed. Here, we analyze in detail how the quantum interference effects included in the Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peigné-Schiff–Zakharov (BDMPS-Z) formalism of medium-induced gluon radiation can be implemented in a quantitatively controlled, local probabilistic parton cascade. The resulting MC algorithm is formulated in terms of elastic and inelastic mean free paths, and it is by construction insensitive to the IR and UV divergences of the total elastic and inelastic cross sections that serve as its basic building blocks in the incoherent limit. Interference effects are implemented by reweighting gluon production histories as a function of the number of scattering centers that act within the gluon formation time. Unlike existing implementations based on gluon formation time, we find generic arguments for why a quantitative implementation of quantum interference cannot amount to a mere dead-time requirement for subsequent gluon production. We validate the proposed MC algorithm by comparing MC simulations with parametric dependencies and analytical results of the BDMPS-Z formalism. In particular, we show that the MC algorithm interpolates correctly between analytically known limiting cases for totally coherent and incoherent gluon production, and that it accounts quantitatively for the medium-induced gluon energy distribution ωdI/dω and the resulting average parton energy loss. We also verify that the MC algorithm implements the transverse momentum broadening of the BDMPS-Z formalism. We finally discuss why the proposed MC algorithm provides a suitable starting point for going beyond the approximations of the BDMPS-Z formalism. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of High Energy Physics
volume
2011
issue
7
article number
118
pages
50 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:80053092441
ISSN
1029-8479
DOI
10.1007/JHEP07(2011)118
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
fc1599c5-b00b-484c-ae6f-e4f87fdbdd69
date added to LUP
2019-05-29 13:35:36
date last changed
2022-04-26 01:03:25
@article{fc1599c5-b00b-484c-ae6f-e4f87fdbdd69,
  abstract     = {{Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are the standard tool for describing jet-like multi-particle final states. To apply them to the simulation of medium-modified jets in heavy ion collisions, a probabilistic implementation of medium-induced quantum interference effects is needed. Here, we analyze in detail how the quantum interference effects included in the Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peigné-Schiff–Zakharov (BDMPS-Z) formalism of medium-induced gluon radiation can be implemented in a quantitatively controlled, local probabilistic parton cascade. The resulting MC algorithm is formulated in terms of elastic and inelastic mean free paths, and it is by construction insensitive to the IR and UV divergences of the total elastic and inelastic cross sections that serve as its basic building blocks in the incoherent limit. Interference effects are implemented by reweighting gluon production histories as a function of the number of scattering centers that act within the gluon formation time. Unlike existing implementations based on gluon formation time, we find generic arguments for why a quantitative implementation of quantum interference cannot amount to a mere dead-time requirement for subsequent gluon production. We validate the proposed MC algorithm by comparing MC simulations with parametric dependencies and analytical results of the BDMPS-Z formalism. In particular, we show that the MC algorithm interpolates correctly between analytically known limiting cases for totally coherent and incoherent gluon production, and that it accounts quantitatively for the medium-induced gluon energy distribution ωdI/dω and the resulting average parton energy loss. We also verify that the MC algorithm implements the transverse momentum broadening of the BDMPS-Z formalism. We finally discuss why the proposed MC algorithm provides a suitable starting point for going beyond the approximations of the BDMPS-Z formalism.}},
  author       = {{Zapp, Korinna Christine and Stachel, Johanna and Wiedemann, Urs Achim}},
  issn         = {{1029-8479}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of High Energy Physics}},
  title        = {{A local Monte Carlo framework for coherent QCD parton energy loss}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2011)118}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/JHEP07(2011)118}},
  volume       = {{2011}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}