arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Torbjörn Sjöstrand.
Pythia 8, the C++ rewrite of the commonly-used Pythia event generator, is now available in a first full-fledged version 8.1. The older Pythia 6.4 generator in Fortran 77 is still maintained, for now, but users are strongly recommended to try out and move to the new version as soon as feasible.
The PYTHIA program is a standard tool for the generation of high-energy collisions, comprising a coherent set of physics models for the evolution from a few-body hard process to a complex multihadronic final state. It contains a library of hard processes and models for initial- and final-state parton showers, multiple parton-parton interactions, beam remnants, string fragmentation and particle decays. It also has a set of utilities and interfaces to external programs. While previous versions were written in Fortran, PYTHIA 8 represents a complete rewrite in C++. The current release is the first main one after this transition, and does not yet in every respect replace the old code. It does contain some new physics aspects, on the other hand, that should make it an attractive option especially for LHC physics studies.
The structure of events in high-energy collisions is complex and not predictable from first principles. Event generators allow the problem to be subdivided into more manageable pieces, some of which can be described from first principles, while others need to be based on appropriate models with parameters tuned to data. In these lectures we provide an overview, discuss how matrix elements are used, introduce the machinery for initial- and final-state parton showers, explain how matrix elements and parton showers can be combined for optimal accuracy, introduce the concept of multiple parton--parton interactions, comment briefly on the hadronization issue, and provide an outlook for the future.
The PYTHIA program can be used to generate high-energy-physics `events', i.e. sets of outgoing particles produced in the interactions between two incoming particles. The objective is to provide as accurate as possible a representation of event properties in a wide range of reactions, with emphasis on those where strong interactions play a role, directly or indirectly, and therefore multihadronic final states are produced. The physics is then not understood well enough to give an exact description; instead the program has to be based on a combination of analytical results and various QCD-based models. This physics input is summarized here, for areas such as hard subprocesses, initial- and final-state parton showers, beam remnants and underlying events, fragmentation and decays, and much more. Furthermore, extensive information is provided on all program elements: subroutines and functions, switches and parameters, and particle and process data. This should allow the user to tailor the generation task to the topics of interest.
The PYTHIA program can be used to generate high-energy-physics `events', i.e. sets of outgoing particles produced in the interactions between two incoming particles. The objective is to provide as accurate as possible a representation of event properties in a wide range of reactions, with emphasis on those where strong interactions play a role, directly or indirectly, and therefore multihadronic final states are produced. The physics is then not understood well enough to give an exact description; instead the program has to be based on a combination of analytical results and various QCD-based models. This physics input is summarized here, for areas such as hard subprocesses, initial- and final-state parton showers, beam remnants and underlying events, fragmentation and decays, and much more. Furthermore, extensive information is provided on all program elements: subroutines and functions, switches and parameters, and particle and process data. This should allow the user to tailor the generation task to the topics of interest. The information in this edition of the manual refers to PYTHIA version 6.200, of 31 August 2001. The official reference to the latest published version is T. Sjöstrand, P. Edén, C. Friberg, L. Lönnblad, G. Miu, S. Mrenna and E. Norrbin, Computer Physics Commun. 135 (2001) 238.
An algorithm for an improved description of final-state QCD radiation is introduced. It is matched to the first-order matrix elements for gluon emission in a host of decays, for processes within the Standard Model and the Minimal Supersymmetric extension thereof.
A `complete' framework for gamma-gamma / gamma*-gamma / gamma*-gamma* interactions is presented. The emphasis is on providing a model for gamma-gamma physics at all photon virtualities, including the difficult transition region around the rho meson mass.
Recent improvements in the PYTHIA event generator are summarized: new hard subprocesses, gamma*-gamma* physics, QCD final-state showers, and more.
In hadronic collisions, the mini-jet cross section is formally divergent in the limit pT -> 0. We argue that this divergence is tamed by some effective colour correlation length scale of the hadron. A toy model of the hadronic structure is introduced, that allows an estimate of the screening effects, and especially their energy dependence.
PYTHIA version 6 represents a merger of the PYTHIA 5, JETSET 7 and SPYTHIA programs, with many improvements. It can be used to generate high-energy-physics `events', i.e. sets of outgoing particles produced in the interactions between two incoming particles. The objective is to provide as accurate as possible a representation of event properties in a wide range of reactions. The underlying physics is not understood well enough to give an exact description; the programs therefore contain a combination of analytical results and various models. The emphasis in this article is on new aspects, but a few words of general introduction are included. Further documentation is available on the web.
The description of longitudinal photons is far from trivial, and their phenomenological importance is largely unknown. While the cross section for direct interactions is calculable, an even more important contribution could come from resolved states. In the development of our model for the interactions of (real and) virtual photons, we have modeled resolved longitudinal effects by simple multiplicative factors on the resolved transverse-photon contributions. Recently, a first set of parton distributions for longitudinal virtual photons has been presented by Chýla. We therefore compare their impact on some representative distributions, relative to the simpler approaches.
A model for total cross sections with virtual photons is presented. In particular gamma*-p and gamma*-gamma* cross sections are considered. Our approach extends on a model for photoproduction, where the total cross section is subdivided into three distinct event classes: direct, VMD and anomalous. With increasing photon virtuality, the latter two decrease in importance. Instead Deep Inelastic Scattering dominates, with the direct class being the O(alpha_s) correction thereof. Hence, the model provides a smooth transition between the two regions. By the breakdown into different event classes, one may aim for a complete picture of all event properties.
PYTHIA is a general-purpose event generator for multiparticle production in high-energy physics. After a general introduction and program news survey, some areas of recent physics progress are considered: the matching to matrix elements, especially for W/Z production; charm and bottom hadronization; multiple interactions; and interconnection effects. The report concludes with some words on the future, specifically the ongoing transition to C++.
Heavy objects like the W, Z and t are short-lived compared with typical hadronization times. When pairs of such particles are produced, the subsequent hadronic decay systems may therefore become interconnected. We study such potential effects at Linear Collider energies.
Heavy objects like the W, Z and t are short-lived compared with typical hadronization times. When pairs of such particles are produced, the subsequent hadronic decay systems may therefore become interconnected. We study such potential effects at Linear Collider energies.
Heavy objects like the W, Z and t are short-lived compared with typical hadronization times. When pairs of such particles are produced, the subsequent hadronic decay systems may therefore become interconnected. We study such potential effects at Linear Collider energies.
The production of jets is studied in collisions of virtual photons, gamma*-p and gamma*-gamma*, specifically for applications at HERA and LEP2. Photon flux factors are convoluted with matrix elements involving either direct or resolved photons and, for the latter, with parton distributions of the photon. Special emphasis is put on the range of uncertainty in the modeling of the resolved component. The resulting model is compared with existing data.
The production of jets is studied in collisions of virtual photons, specifically for applications at HERA. Photon flux factors are convoluted with matrix elements involving either direct or resolved photons and, for the latter, with parton distributions of the photon. Special emphasis is put on the range of uncertainty in the modeling of the resolved component. The resulting model is compared with existing data and further tests are proposed.