Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

General-purpose event generators for LHC Physics

Buckley, A.; Butterworth, J.; Gieseke, S.; Grellscheid, D.; Hoche, S.; Hoeth, H.; Krauss, F.; Lonnblad, L.; Nurse, E.; Richardson, P.; Schumann, S.; Seymour, M.H.; Sjostrand, T.; Skands, P.; Webber, B.

Authors

A. Buckley

J. Butterworth

S. Gieseke

D. Grellscheid

S. Hoche

H. Hoeth

L. Lonnblad

E. Nurse

S. Schumann

M.H. Seymour

T. Sjostrand

P. Skands

B. Webber



Abstract

We review the physics basis, main features and use of general-purpose Monte Carlo event generators for the simulation of proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. Topics included are: the generation of hard scattering matrix elements for processes of interest, at both leading and next-to-leading QCD perturbative order; their matching to approximate treatments of higher orders based on the showering approximation; the parton and dipole shower formulations; parton distribution functions for event generators; non-perturbative aspects such as soft QCD collisions, the underlying event and diffractive processes; the string and cluster models for hadron formation; the treatment of hadron and tau decays; the inclusion of QED radiation and beyond Standard Model processes. We describe the principal features of the Ariadne, Herwig++, Pythia 8 and Sherpa generators, together with the Rivet and Professor validation and tuning tools, and discuss the physics philosophy behind the proper use of these generators and tools. This review is aimed at phenomenologists wishing to understand better how parton-level predictions are translated into hadron-level events as well as experimentalists seeking a deeper insight into the tools available for signal and background simulation at the LHC.

Citation

Buckley, A., Butterworth, J., Gieseke, S., Grellscheid, D., Hoche, S., Hoeth, H., …Webber, B. (2011). General-purpose event generators for LHC Physics. Physics Reports, 504(5), 145-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2011.03.005

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jul 1, 2011
Deposit Date Feb 2, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Physics Reports
Print ISSN 0370-1573
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 504
Issue 5
Pages 145-233
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2011.03.005
Keywords QCD, Hadron colliders, Monte Carlo simulation.

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations