Decomposition of harmonic and jet contributions to particle-pair correlations at ultrarelativistic energies

Abstract

Methodology is presented for analysis of two-particle azimuthal angle correlation functions obtained in collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. We show that harmonic and di-jet contributions to these correlation functions can be reliably decomposed by two techniques to give an accurate measurement of the jet-pair distribution. Results from detailed Monte Carlo simulations are used to demonstrate the efficacy of these techniques in the study of possible modifications to jet topologies in heavy ion reactions.