A Monte Carlo generator of nucleon configurations in complex nuclei including Nucleon-Nucleon correlations

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Monte Carlo generator for nucleon configurations in complex nuclei that incorporates Nucleon-Nucleon correlations, enabling more accurate simulations of high-energy nuclear collisions.

Contribution

The authors developed a novel Monte Carlo event generator that includes NN correlations based on realistic density calculations, improving modeling of nuclear configurations.

Findings

NN correlations significantly affect collision fluctuation predictions

The generator aligns well with previous models in uncorrelated cases

Maximum gluon shadowing estimates are provided using the generator

Abstract

We developed a Monte Carlo event generator for production of nucleon configurations in complex nuclei consistently including effects of Nucleon-Nucleon (NN) correlations. Our approach is based on the Metropolis search for configurations satisfying essential constraints imposed by short- and long-range NN correlations, guided by the findings of realistic calculations of one- and two-body densities for medium-heavy nuclei. The produced event generator can be used for Monte Carlo (MC) studies of pA and AA collisions. We perform several tests of consistency of the code and comparison with previous models, in the case of high energy proton-nucleus scattering on an event-by-event basis, using nucleus configurations produced by our code and Glauber multiple scattering theory both for the uncorrelated and the correlated configurations; fluctuations of the average number of collisions are shown to be affected considerably by the introduction of NN correlations in the target nucleus. We also use the generator to estimate maximal possible gluon nuclear shadowing in a simple geometric model.