Speaker
Dr
Andy Buckley
(Durham University)
Description
The Rivet system is a framework for validation of Monte Carlo event generators
against archived experimental data, and together with JetWeb and HepData forms a core
element of the CEDAR event generator tuning programme. It is also an essential tool
in the development of next generation event generators by members of the MCnet
network. Written primarily in C++, Rivet provides a uniform interface for event
generators and an analysis system to replicate experimental analyses.
The generator interface produces events via the HepMC event record and currently
supports both Fortran and C++ versions of the Herwig and Pythia generators, as well
as the C++ Sherpa generator and the Alpgen and Jimmy subprocess generators. More
generators will be added to the package according to demand.
The Rivet analysis system is based on a concept of "event projections", which project
a simulated event into a lower-dimensional quantity such as scalar or tensor event
shape variables. Projections can be nested and their results are automatically cached
to eliminate duplicate computations. A set of standard projections and analyses which
use them are included with the Rivet package, and this collection will grow with
subsequent releases. Analysis data is accumulated using the AIDA interfaces, and
exported primarily in the AIDA XML histogram format. To complement this,
HepData-generated AIDA records for each bundled analysis are included in the Rivet
package and can be used to define the binnings of generated data observables: this
improves the robustness of analysis implementations and allows easy data-theory
comparisons without requiring network access to HepData.
Primary author
Dr
Andy Buckley
(Durham University)
