Topological study of three-jet events in ALICE

TL;DR

This paper analyzes three-jet events in ALICE to study quark and gluon jet properties at unprecedented energies, using PYTHIA simulations to establish baseline measurements for future QCD tests.

Contribution

It introduces a method for selecting and analyzing three-jet events in ALICE at 14 TeV, providing new insights into jet topology and gluon jet identification at high energies.

Findings

Successful selection of three-jet events in simulated data

Comparison of ALICE results with previous collider studies

Potential identification strategies for gluon jet candidates

Abstract

The ALICE experiment at LHC is dedicated to study matter formed in heavy-ion collisions, but also has a strong physics program for $pp$ collisions. In these collisions, protons will collide at energies never reached before under laboratory conditions. At the high energies, ALICE will enable us to study jet physics in detail, especially the production of multiple jet events, setting the baseline for heavy-ion. Three-jet events allow us to examine the properties of quark and gluon jets, providing a suitable tool for testing QCD experimentally. We discuss the selection method and topology of three-jet events in ALICE. The analysis was performed on two PYTHIA data sets, both involving $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 14$ TeV with enhanced jet production. The results from the dedicated jet MC production are discussed and compared to previous studies at CDF and D\O. We investigate the possibilities to determine gluon jet candidates.