The settings on this page relate to the beam identities and energies,
to a beam momentum spread and to a beam interaction spot.
As always, momenta and energies are to be given in units of GeV,
and of space and time in mm.
Incoming beams
There are two ways to set the identities and energies of the two incoming
beam particles. One is to use the init() method with no
arguments. Then the settings variables below will be read and used. The
alternative is to call init(...)
with arguments that provide this information. Then you need not use the
variables below (although it would still be possible). Note that, if nothing
is done, you will default to LHC at 14 TeV.
Currently the beam particles must be either a hadron pair or a lepton
pair. In the former category p p and pbar p
combinations dominate, but it is also possible to combine with
pi^+, pi^- and pi^0. In the latter
e^+ e^- and mu^+ mu^- would be the most useful
combinations, but also others should work if combined with an
appropriate hard process.
The PDG id code for the first incoming particle.
Allowed codes include
2212 = p, -2212 = pbar,
211 = pi^+, -211 = pi^-, 111 = pi^0,
990 = Pomeron (used in diffractive machinery;
here mainly for debug purposes),
11 = e^-, -11 = e^+,
13 = mu^-, -13 = mu^+,
and a few more leptons/neutrinos in a few combinations.
The PDG id code for the second incoming particle.
Choice of frame for the two colliding particles. For options
1 - 3 the beam identities are specified above, while they are
obtained by the Les Houches information for options 4 and 5.
Collision CM energy, to be set if Beams:frameType = 1.
The energy of the first incoming particle, moving in the
+z direction, to be set if Beams:frameType = 2.
If the particle energy is smaller than its mass
it is assumed to be at rest.
The energy of the second incoming particle, moving in the
-z direction, to be set if Beams:frameType = 2.
If the particle energy is smaller than its mass
it is assumed to be at rest.
The p_x component of the first incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The p_y component of the first incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The p_z component of the first incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The p_x component of the second incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The p_y component of the second incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The p_z component of the second incoming particle,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 3.
The name of a Les Houches Event File,
to be set if Beams:frameType = 4.
As some information in a Les Houches Event File init block is only known
at the end of generation, some programs choose to output this as a
separate file. If Beams:LHEFheader is given, information up
till the end of the init block is read from this file, with
the events themselves read as usual from the file given in
Beams:LHEF.
Allow to begin reading events from a new LHEF or or a new
LHAup instance without a completely new initialization.
Only useful when Beams:frameType = 4 or 5.
Read in LHEF header blocks and store them in the
Info class. See also
LHAupLHEF for more information.
Skip the first nSkip events of the input stream
(cf. the LHAup::skipEvent(nSkip) method).
Only used when Beams:frameType = 4 or 5.
Beam momentum spread
This framework currently is intended for a modest beam spread, such as
experienced at hadron colliders. Thus it can be safely assumed that the
physics does not change over the CM energy range probed, so that the
parameters of the physics initialization at the nominal energy can be
used as is. Currently it can not be used for the more extensive
energy spread expected at linear e^+ e^- colliders. Also,
any attempt to combine it with external Les Houches input of
parton-level events is at own risk.
On this page you can set the momentum spread according to a simple
Gaussian distribution. If you instead want a more sophisticated
parametrization, you can write and link your own
BeamShape class.
Allow the beam momenta to be smeared around their initialization
nominal values.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_x spread of the
first incoming particle.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_y spread of the
first incoming particle.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_z spread of the
first incoming particle.
The triply Gaussian distribution (p_x, p_y, p_z) is restricted to
a maximal total deviation from the nominal values (p_x0, p_y0, p_z0)
for the first incoming particle, like
(p_x - p_x0)^2/sigma_px^2 + (p_y - p_y0)^2/sigma_py^2 +
(p_z - p_z0)^2/sigma_pz^2 < maxDev^2
(Note the absence of a factor 2 in the denominator, unlike the Gaussians
used to pick (p_x, p_y, p_z).)
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_x spread of the
second incoming particle.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_y spread of the
second incoming particle.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the p_z spread of the
second incoming particle.
The triply Gaussian distribution (p_x, p_y, p_z) is restricted to
a maximal total deviation from the nominal values (p_x0, p_y0, p_z0),
for the second incoming particle, like
(p_x - p_x0)^2/sigma_px^2 + (p_y - p_y0)^2/sigma_py^2 +
(p_z - p_z0)^2/sigma_pz^2 < maxDev^2
(Note the absence of a factor 2 in the denominator, unlike the Gaussians
used to pick (p_x, p_y, p_z).)
Beam interaction vertex
On this page you can set the spread of the interaction vertex according to
a simple Gaussian distribution. If you instead want a more sophisticated
parametrization, you can write and link your own
BeamShape class.
Allow the interaction vertex of the two colliding beams to be smeared.
If off, then the vertex is set to be the origin.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the x location of the
interaction vertex.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the y location of the
interaction vertex.
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the z location of the
interaction vertex.
The triply Gaussian distribution of interaction vertex position
(x, y, z) is restricted to a maximal total deviation from the
origin, like
x^2/sigma_x^2 + y^2/sigma_y^2 + z^2/sigma_z^2 < maxDevVertex^2
(Note the absence of a factor 2 in the denominator, unlike the Gaussians
used to pick (x, y, z).)
The width of a Gaussian distribution of the collision time (in units of
mm/c). Note that, if the above space parametrization is viewed as the
effect of two incoming beams along the +-z axis, with each beam
having a Gaussian spread, then the spread of the time would also become
a Gaussian with the same width as the z one (times the
velocity of the beams, which we expect is close to unity). For flexibility
we have not enforced any such relation, however.
The collision time is restricted to be in the range
|t| < sigma_t * maxDevTime.
The distributions above are all centered at the origin. It is also
possible to shift the above distributions to be centered around another
nominal position. You must have Beams:allowVertexSpread = on
to use this possibility.
The x location of the interaction vertex is centered at this value.
The y location of the interaction vertex is centered at this value.
The z location of the interaction vertex is centered at this value.
The time t of the interaction vertex is centered at this value.