Ivan Melo

Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and its use for the identification of fireball fragmentation

We propose an application of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for rapidity distributions of individual events in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. The test is particularly suited to recognizing nonstatistical differences between the events. Thus when applied to a narrow centrality class it could indicate differences between events that would not be expected if all events evolved according to the same scenario. In particular, as an example we assume here a possible fragmentation of the fireball into smaller pieces at the quark/hadron phase transition. Quantitative studies are performed with a Monte Carlo model capable of simulating such a distribution of hadrons. We conclude that the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is a very powerful tool for the identification of the fragmentation process.

Reconstructing the final state of Pb+Pb collisions at TeV

We fit the single-hadron transverse-momentum spectra measured in Pb+Pb collisions at TeV with the blast-wave model that includes production via resonance decays. Common fit to pions, kaons, (anti)protons, and lambdas yields centrality dependence of the freeze-out temperature and transverse expansion velocity. In the most central collisions we see T = 98 MeV and The resonance fits into this picture but the meson might freeze-out a little earlier. Multi-strange baryons seem to decouple at higher temperature and weaker transverse flow. Within our model we observe hints of chemical potential for the charged pions.

Blast wave fits with resonances to pt spectra from nuclear collisions at the LHC

We report our results for the freeze-out temperature and transverse flow profile obtained from fits to hadronic spectra measured by the ALICE collaboration. The influence of resonance decays is important and cannot be simply accounted for without the inclusion of their decays into the fits.

The use of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test in event-by-event analysis

Abstract We propose to use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to uncover non-statistical differences between events created in heavy ion collisions within the same centrality class. The advantage of the method over other approaches which are currently in use, is that it is sensitive to any difference between the events and is not restricted to simple moments of the distribution of hadrons. The particular application examined here is the identification of the fireball decay due to spinodal fragmentation and/or sudden rise of the bulk viscosity.

Observables of non-equilibrium phase transition⋆

Abstract.A rapidly expanding fireball which undergoes first-order phase transition will supercool and proceed via spinodal decomposition. Hadrons are produced from the individual fragments as well as the left-over matter filling the space between them. Emission from fragments should be visible in rapidity correlations, particularly of protons. In addition to that, even within narrow centrality classes, rapidity distributions will be fluctuating from one event to another in case of fragmentation. This can be identified with the help of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Finally, we present a method which allows to sort events with varying rapidity distributions, in such a way that events with similar rapidity histograms are grouped together.

Generating heavy particles with energy and momentum conservation

Abstract We propose a novel algorithm, called REGGAE, for the generation of momenta of a given sample of particle masses, evenly distributed in Lorentz-invariant phase space and obeying energy and momentum conservation. In comparison to other existing algorithms, REGGAE is designed for the use in multiparticle production in hadronic and nuclear collisions where many hadrons are produced and a large part of the available energy is stored in the form of their masses. The algorithm uses a loop simulating multiple collisions which lead to production of configurations with reasonably large weights. Program summary Program title: REGGAE (REscattering-after-Genbod GenerAtor of Events) Catalogue identifier: AEJR_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEJR_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queenʼs University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1523 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 9608 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: C++ Computer: PC Pentium 4, though no particular tuning for this machine was performed. Operating system: Originally designed on Linux PC with g++, but it has been compiled and ran successfully on OS X with g++ and MS Windows with Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition, as well. RAM: This depends on the number of particles which are generated. For 10 particles like in the attached example it requires about 120 kB. Classification: 11.2 Nature of problem: The task is to generate momenta of a sample of particles with given masses which obey energy and momentum conservation. Generated samples should be evenly distributed in the available Lorentz-invariant phase space. Solution method: In general, the algorithm works in two steps. First, all momenta are generated with the GENBOD algorithm. There, particle production is modeled as a sequence of two-body decays of heavy resonances. After all momenta are generated this way, they are reshuffled. Each particle undergoes a collision with some other partner such that in the pair center of mass system the new directions of momenta are distributed isotropically. After each particle collides only a few times, the momenta are distributed evenly across the whole available phase space. Starting with GENBOD is not essential for the procedure but it improves the performance. Running time: This depends on the number of particles and number of events one wants to generate. On a LINUX PC with 2 GHz processor, generation of 1000 events with 10 particles each takes about 3 s.

Multistrangeness in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We discuss strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions in the broad energy range --- from SIS energies through AGS-SPS-RHIC and upto LHC energies. On several examples we demonstrate how the strange particle production can reveal information about the collision dynamics and about possible modifications of particle properties in medium. In particular the production of hadrons containing two and more strange quarks, like

Non-equilibrium hadronisation and event-by-event fluctuations of rapidity distributions

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Fragmentation of the fireball and how to observe it

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Bringing particle physics into classrooms

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