arXiv subjects

M. Alvioli

Publications and source records attributed to M. Alvioli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Probing fluctuating protons using forward neutrons in soft and hard inelastic proton-nucleus scattering

We present a model for the distribution of the number of forward neutrons emitted in soft (minimum bias) and hard inelastic proton-nucleus ($pA$) scattering at the LHC. It is based on the Gribov-Glauber model for the distribution over the number of inelastic collisions (wounded nucleons) combined with a parametrization of cross section (color) fluctuations in the projectile proton, which depend on the parton momentum fraction $x_p$, and the assumption of independent neutron emissions. We observe that while the effect of soft color fluctuations is modest, a reduction of the interaction strength with increasing $x_p$ provides the dominant effect. It allows us to qualitatively describe the trend of the ATLAS data on the ZDC energy spectra of forward neutrons emitted in dijet production in inelastic $pA$ scattering at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8.16$ TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Slicing Pomerons in ultraperipheral collisions using forward neutrons from nuclear breakup

We argue that measurements of forward neutrons from nuclear breakup in inclusive high energy photon-nucleus ($\gamma A$) scattering provide a novel way to study small-$x$ dynamics of QCD in heavy-ion ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs). Using models for hadronic fluctuations of the real photon and neutron emission in nuclear fragmentation, we calculate the distribution over the number of evaporation neutrons produced in $\gamma Pb$ collisions at the LHC. We show that it is correlated with the number of wounded nucleons (inelastic collisions) and, hence, can constrain the mechanism of nuclear shadowing and its $x$ dependence.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Mapping color fluctuations in the photon in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

We model effects of color fluctuations (CFs) in the light-cone photon wave function and for the first time make predictions for the distribution over the number of wounded nucleons $ν$ in the inelastic photon-nucleus scattering. We show that CFs lead to a dramatic enhancement of this distribution at $ν=1$ and large $ν> 10$. We also study the implications of different scales and CFs in the photon wave function on the total transverse energy $ΣE_T$ and other observables in inelastic $γA$ scattering with different triggers. Our predictions can be tested in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus ultraperipheral collisions at the LHC and will help to map CFs, whose first indications have already been observed at the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Revealing nucleon and nucleus flickering in pA collisions at the LHC

We analyze $pA$ interactions at ultra-high energies within the semiclassical approximation for high energy processes accounting for the diffractive processes and a rapid increase with the incident energy of the coherence length. The fluctuations of the strength of interaction expected in QCD and momentum conservation are taken into account also. We evaluate the number of wounded nucleons in soft and hard processes, the multiplicity of jets in the proton fragmentation region as a function of the variance of the distribution over the interaction strengths directly measured in forward diffractive $pN$ scattering for RHIC and LHC energies. We argue that these results could be used to test whether parton configurations containing a parton carrying the $x\ge 0.5$ fraction of the projectile momentum interact significantly weaker than on average. We also study leading twist shadowing and the EMC effect for superdense nuclear matter configurations probed in the events with larger than average number of wounded nucleons.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Scaling Properties of Rainfall-Induced Landslides Predicted by a Physically Based Model

Natural landslides exhibit scaling properties revealed by power law relationships. These relationships include the frequency of the size (e.g., area, volume) of the landslides, and the rainfall conditions responsible for slope failures in a region. Reasons for the scaling behavior of landslides are poorly known. We investigate the possibility of using the Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability analysis code (TRIGRS), a consolidated, physically-based, numerical model that describes the stability/instability conditions of natural slopes forced by rainfall, to determine the frequency statistics of the area of the unstable slopes and the rainfall intensity (I) - duration (D) conditions that result in landslides in a region. We apply TRIGRS in a portion of the Upper Tiber River Basin, Central Italy. The spatially distributed model predicts the stability/instability conditions of individual grid cells, given the local terrain and rainfall conditions. We run TRIGRS using multiple, synthetic rainfall histories, and we compare the modeling results with empirical evidences of the area of landslides and of the rainfall conditions that have caused landslides in the study area. Our findings revealed that TRIGRS is capable of reproducing the frequency of the size of the patches of terrain predicted as unstable by the model, which match the frequency size statistics of landslides in the study area, and the mean rainfall D, I conditions that result in unstable slopes in the study area, which match rainfall I-D thresholds for possible landslide occurrence. Our results are a step towards understanding the mechanisms that give rise to landslide scaling properties.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2014

Improving predictive power of physically based rainfall-induced shallow landslide models: a probabilistic approach

Distributed models to forecast the spatial and temporal occurrence of rainfall-induced shallow landslides are based on deterministic laws. These models extend spatially the static stability models adopted in geotechnical engineering, and adopt an infinite-slope geometry to balance the resisting and the driving forces acting on the sliding mass. An infiltration model is used to determine how rainfall changes pore-water conditions, modulating the local stability/instability conditions. A problem with the operation of the existing models lays in the difficulty in obtaining accurate values for the several variables that describe the material properties of the slopes. The problem is particularly severe when the models are applied over large areas, for which sufficient information on the geotechnical and hydrological conditions of the slopes is not generally available. To help solve the problem, we propose a probabilistic Monte Carlo approach to the distributed modeling of rainfall-induced shallow landslides. For the purpose, we have modified the Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability Analysis (TRIGRS) code. The new code (TRIGRS-P) adopts a probabilistic approach to compute, on a cell-by-cell basis, transient pore-pressure changes and related changes in the factor of safety due to rainfall infiltration. Infiltration is modeled using analytical solutions of partial differential equations describing one-dimensional vertical flow in isotropic, homogeneous materials. Both saturated and unsaturated soil conditions can be considered. TRIGRS-P copes with the natural variability inherent to the mechanical and hydrological properties of the slope materials by allowing values of the TRIGRS model input parameters to be sampled randomly from a given probability distribution. [..]

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2013

Color fluctuation effects in proton-nucleus collisions

Color fluctuations in hadron-hadron collisions are responsible for the presence of inelastic diffraction and lead to distinctive differences between the Gribov picture of high energy scattering and the low energy Glauber picture. We find that color fluctuations give a larger contribution to the fluctuations of the number of wounded nucleons than the fluctuations of the number of nucleons at a given impact parameter. The two contributions for the impact parameter averaged fluctuations are comparable. As a result, standard procedures for selecting peripheral (central) collisions lead to selection of configurations in the projectile which interact with smaller (larger) than average strength. We suggest that studies of pA collisions with a hard trigger may allow to observe effects of color fluctuations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Nucleon momentum distributions, their spin-isospin dependence and short-range correlations

The nucleon momentum distribution $n_A(k)$ for $A=$2, 3, 4, 16, and 40 nuclei is systematically analyzed in terms of wave functions resulting from advanced solutions of the nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation, obtained within different many-body approaches. Particular attention is paid to the separation of the momentum distributions into the mean-field and short-range correlations (SRC) contributions. It is shown that at high values of the momentum $k$ the high-momentum components ($k\gtrsim 1.5-2$ fm$^{-1}$) of all nuclei considered are very similar, exhibiting the well-known scaling behavior with the mass number $A$, independently of the used many-body approach and the details of the bare $NN$ interaction. The number of $NN$ pairs in a given ($ST$) state, viz., ($ST$)=(10), (00), (01), and (11), and the contribution of these states to the nucleon momentum distributions are calculated. It is shown that, apart from the (00) state, which has very small effects, all other spin-isospin states contribute to the momentum distribution in a wide range of momenta. It is shown that that for all nuclei considered the momentum distributions in the states T=0 and T=1 exhibit at $k\gtrsim 1.5-2$ fm$^{-1}$ very similar behaviors, which represents strong evidence of the A-independent character of SRCs. The ratio $n_A(k)/n_D(k)$ is analyzed in detail stressing that in the SRC region it always increases with the momentum and the origin of such an increase is discussed and elucidated. The relationships between the one- and two-body momentum distributions, considered in a previous paper, are discussed and clarified, pointing out the relevant role played by the center-of-mass motion of a correlated pair in the (10) state. The relationship of the present approach with the many-body methods based upon low-momentum effective interactions is briefly discussed.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2013

Testing the Gaussian Approximation to the JIMWLK Equation

In processes involving small-x partons, like in deep inelastic scattering and in hadronic collisions at high energy, the final state can be expressed in terms of correlators of Wilson lines. We study such high-point correlators evolving according to the JIMWLK equation and we confirm the results of previous numerical and analytic work, by using an independent method, that the solution to the JIMWLK equation can be very well approximated by an appropriate Gaussian wavefunction. We explore both fixed and running coupling evolution, where in the latter the scale is set according to various prescriptions. As a byproduct, we also numerically confirm to high accuracy the validity of the law governing the behavior of the S-matrix close to the unitarity limit, the Levin-Tuchin formula. We furthermore outline how to calculate correlators with open color indices.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Universality of Short-Range Correlations in One- and Two-Nucleon Momentum Distributions of Nuclei

Universality of short range correlations has been investigated both in coordinate and in momentum space, by means of one-and two-body densities and momentum distributions. In this contribution we discuss one- and two-body momentum distributions across a wide range of nuclei and their common features which can be ascribed to the presence of short range correlations. Calculations for few-body nuclei, namely 3He and 4He, have been performed using exact wave functions obtained with Argonne nucleon-nucleon interactions, while the linked cluster expansion technique is used for medium-heavy nuclei. The center of mass motion of a nucleon-nucleon pair in the nucleus, embedded in the full two-body momentum distribution n_NN(krel,KCM), is shown to exhibit the universal behavior predicted by the two-nucleon correlation model, in which the nucleon-nucleon pair moves inside the nucleus as a deuteron in a mean-field. Moreover, the deuteron-like spin-isospin (ST)=(10) contribution to the pn two-body momentum distribution is obtained, and shown to exactly scale to the deuteron momentum distribution. Universality of correlations in two-body distributions is cast onto the one-body distribution n(k1), obtained by integration of the two-body n_NN(k1, k2): in particular, the high momentum part of n(k1) exhibits the same pattern for all considered nuclei, in favor of a universal character of the short range structure of the nuclear wave function. Perspectives of this work, namely the calculation of reactions involving light and complex nuclei with realistic wave functions and effects of Final State Interactions (FSI), investigated by means of distorted momentum distributions within the Glauber multiple scattering approach, are eventually discussed.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2012

Initial state anisotropies in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions from the Monte Carlo Glauber model

In hydrodynamicalmodeling of heavy-ion collisions the initial state spatial anisotropies translate into momentum anisotropies of the final state particle distributions. Thus, understanding the origin of the initial anisotropies and quantifying their uncertainties is important for the extraction of specific QCD matter properties, such as viscosity, from the experimental data. In this work we study the wounded nucleon approach in the Monte Carlo Glauber model framework, focusing especially on the uncertainties which arise from the modeling of the nucleon-nucleon interactions between the colliding nucleon pairs and nucleon-nucleon correlations inside the colliding nuclei. We compare the black disk model and a probabilistic profile function approach for the inelastic nucleon-nucleon interactions, and study the effects of initial state correlations using state-of-theart modeling of these.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Initial state anisotropies and their uncertainties in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions from the Monte Carlo Glauber model

In hydrodynamical modeling of heavy-ion collisions, the initial-state spatial anisotropies are translated into momentum anisotropies of the final-state particle distributions. Thus, understanding the origin of the initial-state anisotropies and their uncertainties is important before extracting specific QCD matter properties, such as viscosity, from the experimental data. In this work we review the wounded nucleon approach based on the Monte Carlo Glauber model, charting in particular the uncertainties arising from modeling of the nucleon-nucleon interactions between the colliding nucleon pairs and nucleon-nucleon correlations inside the colliding nuclei. We discuss the differences between the black disk model and a probabilistic profile function approach for the inelastic nucleon-nucleon interactions, and investigate the influence of initial-state correlations using state-of-the-art modeling of these.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Universality of nucleon-nucleon short-range correlations: two-nucleon momentum distributions in few-body systems

Using realistic wave functions, the proton-neutron and proton-proton momentum distributions in $^3He$ and $^4He$ are calculated as a function of the relative, $k_{rel}$, and center of mass, $K_{CM}$, momenta, and the angle between them. For large values of ${k}_{rel}\gtrsim 2\,\,fm^{-1}$ and small values of ${K}_{CM} \lesssim 1.0\,\,fm^{-1}$, both distributions are angle independent and decrease with increasing $K_{CM}$, with the $pn$ distribution factorizing into the deuteron momentum distribution times a rapidly decreasing function of $K_{CM}$, in agreement with the two-nucleon (2N) short range correlation (SRC) picture. When $K_{CM}$ and $k_{rel}$ are both large, the distributions exhibit a strong angle dependence, which is evidence of three-nucleon (3N) SRC. The predicted center-of-mass and angular dependence of 2N and 3N SRC should be observable in two-nucleon knock-out processes $A(e,e'pN)X$.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2011

Beam Fragmentation in Heavy Ion Collisions with Realistically Correlated Nuclear Configurations

We develop a new approach to production of the spectator nucleons in the heavy ion collisions. The energy transfer to the spectator system is calculated using the Monte Carlo based on the updated version of our generator of configurations in colliding nuclei which includes a realistic account of short-range correlations in nuclei. The transferred energy distributions are calculated within the framework of the Glauber multiple scattering theory, taking into account all the individual inelastic and elastic collisions using an independent realistic calculation of the potential energy contribution of each of the nucleon-nucleon pairs to the total potential. We show that the dominant mechanism of the energy transfer is tearing apart pairs of nucleons with the major contribution coming from the short-range correlations. We calculate the momentum distribution of the emitted nucleons which is strongly affected by short range correlations including its dependence on the azimuthal angle. In particular, we predict a strong angular asymmetry along the direction of the impact parameter b, providing a unique opportunity to determine the direction of b. Also, we predict a strong dependence of the shape of the nucleon momentum distribution on the centrality of the nucleus-nucleus collision.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2010

Proton Decay: Improving the sensitivity through nuclear dynamics?

The kinematics of the decay of a bound proton is governed by the proton spectral function. We evaluate this quantity in 16O using the information from nuclear physics experiments. It also includes a correlated part. The reliability of this evaluation is sufficient to open the possibility of correlated cuts in the missing mass and momentum variables in order to identify the decay events from the bound protons with a possible increase of the signal to noise ratio.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2009

Realistic Nuclear Wave functions and Heavy Ion Collisions

We discuss the implications of recent experimental evidence of nuclear Short Range Correlations (SRCs) on the modeling of the wave function of complex nuclei. We perform a calculation of potential energy contributions of pp and pn pairs in nuclei, showing that the presence of strong tensor correlations produce a ratio between the twos of about 1/9, which strongly deviates from the combinatorial counting of the number of pairs. We also discuss implications for the production of Monte Carlo configuration for the simulation of nuclear reactions involving complex nuclei.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2009

Diffraction on Nuclei: Effects of Nucleon Correlations

The cross sections for a variety of diffractive processes in proton-nucleus scattering, associated with large gaps in rapidity, are calculated within an improved Glauber-Gribov theory, where the inelastic shadowing corrections are summed to all orders by employing the dipole representation. The effects of nucleon correlations, leading to a modification of the nuclear thickness function, are also taken into account. Numerical calculations are performed for the energies of the HERA-B experiment, and the RHIC and LHC colliders, and for several nuclei. It is found that whereas the Gribov corrections generally make nuclear matter more transparent, nucleon correlations act in the opposite direction and have important effects in various diffractive processes.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2009

Slow Proton Production in Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering off Deuteron and Complex Nuclei: Hadronization and Final State Interaction Effects

The effects of the final state interaction in slow proton production in semi inclusive deep inelastic scattering processes off nuclei, A(e,e'p)X, are investigated in details within the spectator and target fragmentation mechanisms; in the former mechanism, the hard interaction on a nucleon of a correlated pair leads, by recoil, to the emission of the partner nucleon, whereas in the latter mechanism proton is produced when the diquark, which is formed right after the visrtual photon-quark interaction, captures a quark from the vacuum. Unlike previous papers on the subject, particular attention is paid on the effects of the final state interaction of the hadronizing quark with the nuclear medium within an approach based upon an effective time-dependent cross section which combines the soft and hard parts of hadronization dynamics in terms of the string model and perturbative QCD, respectively. It is shown that the final state interaction of the hadronizing quark with the medium plays a relevant role both in deuteron and complex nuclei; nonetheless, kinematical regions where final state interaction effects are minimized can experimentally be selected, which would allow one to investigate the structure functions of nucleons embedded in the nuclear medium; likewise, regions where the interaction of the struck hadronizing quark with the nuclear medium is maximized can be found, which would make it possible to study non perturbative hadronization mechanisms.

nucl-th↗