Monte Carlo models: Quo vadimus? Page: 1 of 10
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1
Monte Carlo Models: Quo Vadimus?
O
o Xin-Nian Wanga*
aNuclear Science Division, MS 70-319, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Berkeley, CA 94547
Coherence, multiple scattering and the interplay between soft and hard processes are
Cl discussed. These physics phenomena are essential for understanding the nuclear depen-
dences of rapidity density and PT spectra in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The RHIC
data have shown the onset of hard processes and indications of high PT spectra suppression
M due to parton energy loss. Within the pQCD parton model, the combination of azimuthal
anisotropy (v2) and hadron spectra suppression at large PT can help one to determine the
C
in initial gluon density in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC.
C
o 1. Introduction
Monte Carlo models have played an important and irreplaceable role in both low and
' high-energy physics. First of all, they are needed to simulate the physics and detector
;Z capabilities for any proposed experiment. They are necessary to study the efficiency,
acceptance corrections and background in the analyses of experimental data. They are
also very useful tools for theorists to test and estimate the consequences of new physics
ideas and phenomena. This is especially true for high-energy heavy-ion collisions.
In order to study the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) produced in the
early stage of heavy-ion collisions and to search for evidence of the QCD phase transition,
one needs to understand the whole evolution history of the collisions. Since the reaction
dynamics is very complex and there is not a simple standard analytic model, one has to
rely on Monte Carlo models to incorporate many aspects of strong interactions in the
simulation of heavy-ion collisions. The models and parameters therein can be constrained
by well-tested theories and experimental data especially in pp and pA collisions where
QGP is not expected to form. They provide a baseline calculation of physical observables
in the absence of new physics due to the formation of QGP. However, large uncertainties
exist in extrapolating to AA collisions. Comparisons of results produced by different
Monte Carlo models or by varying the model parameters are useful to provide a measure
of the extrapolation uncertainties. The latest RHIC data [1-4] have proven to provide
good constraints on Monte Carlo models that in turn help us to understand the reaction
dynamics and the initial conditions. Finally, Monte Carlo models also serve as theoretical
laboratories to test proposed signals and probes of QGP such as jet quenching [5].
*This work was supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of High Energy and Nuclear
Physics, Divisions of Nuclear Physics, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-
76SF00098
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Wang, Xin-Nian. Monte Carlo models: Quo vadimus?, article, January 1, 2001; Berkeley, California. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc743080/m1/1/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.