LPM-Effect in Monte Carlo Models of Radiative Energy Loss

TL;DR

This paper develops a probabilistic Monte Carlo method to accurately simulate the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect in radiative energy loss during nuclear collisions, improving upon previous approximations.

Contribution

It introduces a local, probabilistic Monte Carlo implementation based on formation times that fully accounts for the LPM effect, including beyond eikonal and collinear approximations.

Findings

Reproduces known eikonal and collinear results

Shows qualitative differences when going beyond approximations

Provides a new tool for jet energy loss simulations

Abstract

Extending the use of Monte Carlo (MC) event generators to jets in nuclear collisions requires a probabilistic implementation of the non-abelian LPM effect. We demonstrate that a local, probabilistic MC implementation based on the concept of formation times can account fully for the LPM-effect. The main features of the analytically known eikonal and collinear approximation can be reproduced, but we show how going beyond this approximation can lead to qualitatively different results.