Navigate these pages by using the menu to the left. The default for each topic is a comparison of a small number of models to available data, but look for links at the top of each page for comparisons with more tunes/generators. Scroll down each page to see plots at other collider energies. To choose specific generator version(s), use the Generator Versions link towards the top of the menu (the default is to just display the most recent ones). More plots will be added, as new tunes become available, and as the available data increases.

Note: see the Test4Theory project to find out how to donate your unused CPU cycles to help generate more statistics for mcplots.

MCPLOTS

MCPLOTS is intended as a simple browsable repository of MC (Monte Carlo) plots comparing High Energy Physics event generators to a wide variety of available experimental data, for tuning and reference purposes. Apart from individual plots contained in papers and presentations, there has not previously been any central database where people can quickly see how tune X of version Y of generator Z looks on distribution D. The idea with mcplots is to provide such a repository, mainly based on the Rivet analysis tool.

On each page, selected by clicking in the menu on the left, you will see a number of plots at different collider energies, comparing a set of default generators/tunes to each other and to the data (if there is any). If data for several different fiducial cuts are available at the same energy, these will be arranged horizontally. At the top of the page, you can select other generator/tune groups. The default ("Main") is a comparison of the main generators. Each additional tab then gives access to illustrations of more specialized tunes/variations for each generator.

The millions of different possible combinations of beam energies, cuts, generators, versions, and tunes, means that a lot of attention has been paid to how to simplify the site, in particular how to organize the site visually, and how to minimize the number of user clicks/inputs required to get what you want. The current site is based on a prototype developed by P. Skands in the context of workshops in Les Houches and Perugia [LH08, Ska10], but obviously it also draws heavily on the lessons and tools developed as part of the JetWeb project, in particular the Rivet analysis tool. The result is intended to look and feel much like any old-style browsable/clickable set of pages, with the more advanced technologies it is based on having been hidden 'under the hood', for the most part.

Ultimately, we aim to include a possibility for more interactive use of the site, with a special "USER" generator/tune group in which users can compose their own comparisons and even upload their own files for overplotting.

Contact

Missing an interesting Analysis / Plot / Tune / Generator? Something is wrong or unclear?
Contact us: P. Skands (peter.skands.AT.monash.edu) and A. Karneyeu (anton.karneyeu.AT.cern.ch)

Support

The MCPlots site is being developed with participation by

• The CERN Theory Group
• The MCnet Monte Carlo network
• CERN's Generator Services project
• The CERN LHC Physics Center (LPCC)

Funds may be available to support development and integration of new features / new analyses / new tools on the site. Contact us if you have a project to propose and would be interested in a short-term stay at CERN.