Particle production as a function of the underlying event in pp collisions simulated with PYTHIA 8

TL;DR

This study uses PYTHIA 8 simulations to analyze how charged particle production in proton-proton collisions varies with underlying event activity, revealing effects similar to those observed in heavy-ion collisions and proposing methods to model and subtract underlying event contributions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel analysis of underlying event effects on particle correlations in pp collisions and proposes a strategy for modeling and subtracting these contributions in complex environments.

Findings

Yield in the away region broadens with increasing R_T.

Yield in the toward region increases with R_T.

Effects resemble those seen in central heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract

In this work we present the production of charged particles associated with high-$p_{\rm T}$ trigger particles ($8<p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig.}<15$ GeV /$c$) at mid-pseudorapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$\,TeV simulated with the \textsc{PYTHIA 8} Monte Carlo model. The study is performed as a function of the relative transverse activity classifier, $R_{\rm T}$, which is the relative charged-particle multiplicity in the transverse region ($\pi/3 <|\Delta\phi| <2\pi/3$) of the di-hadron correlations, and it is sensitive to the Multi-Parton Interactions. The evolution of the yield of associated particles on both the toward and the away regions with $3\leq p_{\rm T}^{\rm assoc.}<8$ GeV/$c$ as a function of $R_{\rm T}$ is investigated. We propose a strategy which allows for the modelling and subtraction of the Underlying Event (UE) contribution from the toward and the away regions in challenging environments like those characterised by large $R_{\rm T}$. We found that the signal in the away region becomes broader with increasing $R_{\rm T}$. Contrarily, the yield increases with $R_{\rm T}$ in the toward region. This effect is reminiscent of that seen in heavy-ion collisions, where an enhancement of the yield in the toward region for $0-5\%$ central Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s}_{\rm NN}=2.76$\,TeV was reported. To further understand the role of the UE and additional jet activity, the transverse region is divided into two one-sided sectors, "trans-max" and "trans-min" selected in each event according to which region has larger or smaller charged particle multiplicity. Based on this selection criterion, the observables are studied as a function of $R_{\rm T}^{\rm max}$ and $R_{\rm T}^{\rm min}$, respectively. The presented results have been published in J. Phys. G 48, no.1, 015007 (2020) and Phys. Rev. D 104, no.1, 016017 (2021).