Disentangling Jet Modification in Jet Simulations and in Z+Jet Data

Understand

We study the impact of selection biases on jet structure and substructure observables and separate these effects from effects caused by jet quenching.

• We use the angular separation $\Delta R$ of the hardest splitting in a jet as the primary example observable.
• We first conduct a simplified Monte Carlo study in which it is possible to identify the same jet after quenching in a heavy ion collision and as it would have been if it had formed in vacuum.
• We select a sample of jets by placing a cut on their quenched $p_T$ and, as is possible only in a Monte Carlo study, compare to the same jets unquenched, and see that the $\Delta R$ distribution seems to be unmodified.