Contributor info: Dr Stephen Mrenna

Christan Bierlich, Philip Ilten, Tony Menzo, Stephen Mrenna, Manuel Szewc, Michael K. Wilkinson, Ahmed Youssef, Jure Zupan

SciPost Phys. 16, 134 (2024) · published 27 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

This work reports on a method for uncertainty estimation in simulated collider-event predictions. The method is based on a Monte Carlo-veto algorithm, and extends previous work on uncertainty estimates in parton showers by including uncertainty estimates for the Lund string-fragmentation model. This method is advantageous from the perspective of simulation costs: a single ensemble of generated events can be reinterpreted as though it was obtained using a different set of input parameters, where each event now is accompanied with a corresponding weight. This allows for a robust exploration of the uncertainties arising from the choice of input model parameters, without the need to rerun full simulation pipelines for each input parameter choice. Such explorations are important when determining the sensitivities of precision physics measurements. Accompanying code is available at https://gitlab.com/uchep/mlhad-weights-validation.

J. M. Campbell, M. Diefenthaler, T. J. Hobbs, S. Höche, J. Isaacson, F. Kling, S. Mrenna, J. Reuter, S. Alioli, J. R. Andersen, C. Andreopoulos, A. M. Ankowski, E. C. Aschenauer, A. Ashkenazi, M. D. Baker, J. L. Barrow, M. van Beekveld, G. Bewick, S. Bhattacharya, C. Bierlich, E. Bothmann, P. Bredt, A. Broggio, A. Buckley, A. Butter, J. M. Butterworth, E. P. Byrne, C. M. Carloni-Calame, S. Chakraborty, X. Chen, M. Chiesa, J. T. Childers, J. Cruz-Martinez, J. Currie, N. Darvishi, M. Dasgupta, A. Denner, F. A. Dreyer, S. Dytman, B. K. El-Menoufi, T. Engel, S. Ferrario Ravasio, D. Figueroa, L. Flower, J. R. Forshaw, R. Frederix, A. Friedland, S. Frixione, H. Gallagher, K. Gallmeister, S. Gardiner, R. Gauld, J. Gaunt, A. Gavardi, T. Gehrmann, A. Gehrmann-De Ridder, L. Gellersen, W. Giele, S. Gieseke, F. Giuli, E. W. N. Glover, M. Grazzini, A. Grohsjean, C. Gütschow, K. Hamilton, T. Han, R. Hatcher, G. Heinrich, I. Helenius, O. Hen, V. Hirschi, M. Höfer, J. Holguin, A. Huss, P. Ilten, S. Jadach, A. Jentsch, S. P. Jones, W. Ju, S. Kallweit, A. Karlberg, T. Katori, M. Kerner, W. Kilian, M. M. Kirchgaeßer, S. Klein, M. Knobbe, C. Krause, F. Krauss, J. Lang, J. -N. Lang, G. Lee, S. W. Li, M. A. Lim, J. M. Lindert, D. Lombardi, L. Lönnblad, M. Löschner, N. Lurkin, Y. Ma, P. Machado, V. Magerya, A. Maier, I. Majer, F. Maltoni, M. Marcoli, G. Marinelli, M. R. Masouminia, P. Mastrolia, O. Mattelaer, J. Mazzitelli, J. McFayden, R. Medves, P. Meinzinger, J. Mo, P. F. Monni, G. Montagna, T. Morgan, U. Mosel, B. Nachman, P. Nadolsky, R. Nagar, Z. Nagy, D. Napoletano, P. Nason, T. Neumann, L. J. Nevay, O. Nicrosini, J. Niehues, K. Niewczas, T. Ohl, G. Ossola, V. Pandey, A. Papadopoulou, A. Papaefstathiou, G. Paz, M. Pellen, G. Pelliccioli, T. Peraro, F. Piccinini, L. Pickering, J. Pires, W. Placzek, S. Plätzer, T. Plehn, S. Pozzorini, S. Prestel, C. T. Preuss, A. C. Price, S. Quackenbush, E. Re, D. Reichelt, L. Reina, C. Reuschle, P. Richardson, M. Rocco, N. Rocco, M. Roda, A. Rodriguez Garcia, S. Roiser, J. Rojo, L. Rottoli, G. P. Salam, M. Schönherr, S. Schuchmann, S. Schumann, R. Schürmann, L. Scyboz, M. H. Seymour, F. Siegert, A. Signer, G. Singh Chahal, A. Siódmok, T. Sjöstrand, P. Skands, J. M. Smillie, J. T. Sobczyk, D. Soldin, D. E. Soper, A. Soto-Ontoso, G. Soyez, G. Stagnitto, J. Tena-Vidal, O. Tomalak, F. Tramontano, S. Trojanowski, Z. Tu, S. Uccirati, T. Ullrich, Y. Ulrich, M. Utheim, A. Valassi, A. Verbytskyi, R. Verheyen, M. Wagman, D. Walker, B. R. Webber, L. Weinstein, O. White, J. Whitehead, M. Wiesemann, C. Wilkinson, C. Williams, R. Winterhalder, C. Wret, K. Xie, T-Z. Yang, E. Yazgan, G. Zanderighi, S. Zanoli, K. Zapp

SciPost Phys. 16, 130 (2024) · published 24 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We provide an overview of the status of Monte-Carlo event generators for high-energy particle physics. Guided by the experimental needs and requirements, we highlight areas of active development, and opportunities for future improvements. Particular emphasis is given to physics models and algorithms that are employed across a variety of experiments. These common themes in event generator development lead to a more comprehensive understanding of physics at the highest energies and intensities, and allow models to be tested against a wealth of data that have been accumulated over the past decades. A cohesive approach to event generator development will allow these models to be further improved and systematic uncertainties to be reduced, directly contributing to future experimental success. Event generators are part of a much larger ecosystem of computational tools. They typically involve a number of unknown model parameters that must be tuned to experimental data, while maintaining the integrity of the underlying physics models. Making both these data, and the analyses with which they have been obtained accessible to future users is an essential aspect of open science and data preservation. It ensures the consistency of physics models across a variety of experiments.

Prasanth Shyamsundar, Jacob L. Scott, Stephen Mrenna, Konstantin T. Matchev, Kyoungchul Kong

SciPost Phys. Codebases 28 (2024) · published 4 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

Monte Carlo (MC) integration is an important calculational technique in the physical sciences. Practical considerations require that the calculations are performed as accurately as possible for a given set of computational resources. To improve the accuracy of MC integration, a number of useful variance reduction algorithms have been developed, including importance sampling and control variates. In this work, we demonstrate how these two methods can be applied simultaneously, thus combining their benefits. We provide a python wrapper, named CoVVVR, which implements our approach in the VEGAS program. The improvements are quantified with several benchmark examples from the literature.

Prasanth Shyamsundar, Jacob L. Scott, Stephen Mrenna, Konstantin T. Matchev, Kyoungchul Kong

SciPost Phys. Codebases 28-r1.4 (2024) · published 4 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · src

Monte Carlo (MC) integration is an important calculational technique in the physical sciences. Practical considerations require that the calculations are performed as accurately as possible for a given set of computational resources. To improve the accuracy of MC integration, a number of useful variance reduction algorithms have been developed, including importance sampling and control variates. In this work, we demonstrate how these two methods can be applied simultaneously, thus combining their benefits. We provide a python wrapper, named CoVVVR, which implements our approach in the VEGAS program. The improvements are quantified with several benchmark examples from the literature.

Kyoungchul Kong, Konstantin T. Matchev, Stephen Mrenna, Prasanth Shyamsundar

SciPost Phys. Codebases 14-r0.1 (2023) · published 7 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · src

We propose an intuitive, machine-learning approach to multiparameter inference, dubbed the InferoStatic Networks (ISN) method, to model the score and likelihood ratio estimators in cases when the probability density can be sampled but not computed directly. The ISN uses a backend neural network that models a scalar function called the inferostatic potential $\varphi$. In addition, we introduce new strategies, respectively called Kernel Score Estimation (KSE) and Kernel Likelihood Ratio Estimation (KLRE), to learn the score and the likelihood ratio functions from simulated data. We illustrate the new techniques with some toy examples and compare to existing approaches in the literature. We mention en passant some new loss functions that optimally incorporate latent information from simulations into the training procedure.

Kyoungchul Kong, Konstantin T. Matchev, Stephen Mrenna, Prasanth Shyamsundar

SciPost Phys. Codebases 14 (2023) · published 7 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We propose an intuitive, machine-learning approach to multiparameter inference, dubbed the InferoStatic Networks (ISN) method, to model the score and likelihood ratio estimators in cases when the probability density can be sampled but not computed directly. The ISN uses a backend neural network that models a scalar function called the inferostatic potential $\varphi$. In addition, we introduce new strategies, respectively called Kernel Score Estimation (KSE) and Kernel Likelihood Ratio Estimation (KLRE), to learn the score and the likelihood ratio functions from simulated data. We illustrate the new techniques with some toy examples and compare to existing approaches in the literature. We mention en passant some new loss functions that optimally incorporate latent information from simulations into the training procedure.

Christian Bierlich, Smita Chakraborty, Nishita Desai, Leif Gellersen, Ilkka Helenius, Philip Ilten, Leif Lönnblad, Stephen Mrenna, Stefan Prestel, Christian T. Preuss, Torbjörn Sjöstrand, Peter Skands, Marius Utheim, Rob Verheyen

SciPost Phys. Codebases 8-r8.3 (2022) · published 10 November 2022 | Toggle abstract · src

This manual describes the Pythia event generator, the most recent version of an evolving physics tool used to answer fundamental questions in particle physics. The program is most often used to generate high-energy-physics collision "events", i.e. sets of particles produced in association with the collision of two incoming high-energy particles, but has several uses beyond that. The guiding philosophy is to produce and re-produce properties of experimentally obtained collisions as accurately as possible. The program includes a wide ranges of reactions within and beyond the Standard Model, and extending to heavy ion physics. Emphasis is put on phenomena where strong interactions play a major role. The manual contains both pedagogical and practical components. All included physics models are described in enough detail to allow the user to obtain a cursory overview of used assumptions and approximations, enabling an informed evaluation of the program output. A number of the most central algorithms are described in enough detail that the main results of the program can be reproduced independently, allowing further development of existing models or the addition of new ones. Finally, a chapter dedicated fully to the user is included towards the end, providing pedagogical examples of standard use cases, and a detailed description of a number of external interfaces. The program code, the online manual, and the latest version of this print manual can be found on the Pythia web page: https://www.pythia.org/.

Christian Bierlich, Smita Chakraborty, Nishita Desai, Leif Gellersen, Ilkka Helenius, Philip Ilten, Leif Lönnblad, Stephen Mrenna, Stefan Prestel, Christian T. Preuss, Torbjörn Sjöstrand, Peter Skands, Marius Utheim, Rob Verheyen

SciPost Phys. Codebases 8 (2022) · published 10 November 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

This manual describes the Pythia event generator, the most recent version of an evolving physics tool used to answer fundamental questions in particle physics. The program is most often used to generate high-energy-physics collision "events", i.e. sets of particles produced in association with the collision of two incoming high-energy particles, but has several uses beyond that. The guiding philosophy is to produce and re-produce properties of experimentally obtained collisions as accurately as possible. The program includes a wide ranges of reactions within and beyond the Standard Model, and extending to heavy ion physics. Emphasis is put on phenomena where strong interactions play a major role. The manual contains both pedagogical and practical components. All included physics models are described in enough detail to allow the user to obtain a cursory overview of used assumptions and approximations, enabling an informed evaluation of the program output. A number of the most central algorithms are described in enough detail that the main results of the program can be reproduced independently, allowing further development of existing models or the addition of new ones. Finally, a chapter dedicated fully to the user is included towards the end, providing pedagogical examples of standard use cases, and a detailed description of a number of external interfaces. The program code, the online manual, and the latest version of this print manual can be found on the Pythia web page: https://www.pythia.org/.

Wenjing Wang, Mohan Krishnamoorthy, Juliane Muller, Stephen Mrenna, Holger Schulz, Xiangyang Ju, Sven Leyffer, Zachary Marshall

SciPost Phys. Core 5, 001 (2022) · published 17 January 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

The parameters in Monte Carlo (MC) event generators are tuned on experimental measurements by evaluating the goodness of fit between the data and the MC predictions. The relative importance of each measurement is adjusted manually in an often time-consuming, iterative process to meet different experimental needs. In this work, we introduce several optimization formulations and algorithms with new decision criteria for streamlining and automating this process. These algorithms are designed for two formulations: bilevel optimization and robust optimization. Both formulations are applied to the datasets used in the ATLAS A14 tune and to the dedicated hadronization datasets generated by the Sherpa generator, respectively. The corresponding tuned generator parameters are compared using three metrics. We compare the quality of our automatic tunes to the published ATLAS A14 tune. Moreover, we analyze the impact of a pre-processing step that excludes data that cannot be described by the physics models used in the MC event generators.

Stefan Höche, Stephen Mrenna, Shay Payne, Christian T Preuss, Peter Skands

SciPost Phys. 12, 010 (2022) · published 10 January 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We discuss and illustrate the properties of several parton-shower algorithms available in Pythia and Vincia, in the context of Higgs production via vector boson fusion (VBF). In particular, the distinctive colour topology of VBF processes allows to define observables sensitive to the coherent radiation pattern of additional jets. We study a set of such observables, using the Vincia sector-antenna shower as our main reference, and contrast it to Pythia's transverse-momentum-ordered DGLAP shower as well as Pythia's dipole-improved shower. We then investigate the robustness of these predictions as successive levels of higher-order perturbative matrix elements are incorporated, including next-to-leading-order matched and tree-level merged calculations, using Powheg Box and Sherpa respectively to generate the hard events.