Comparing the same-side "ridge" in CMS p-p angular correlations to RHIC p-p data

Abstract

The CMS collaboration has recently reported the appearance of a same-side "ridge" structure in two-particle angular correlations from 7 TeV p-p collisions. The ridge in p-p collisions at 7 TeV has been compared to a ridge structure in more-central Au-Au collisions at 0.2 TeV interpreted by some as evidence for a dense, flowing QCD medium. In this study we make a detailed comparison between 0.2 TeV p-p correlations and the CMS results. We find that 7 TeV minimum-bias jet correlations are remarkably similar to those at 0.2 TeV, even to the details of the same-side peak geometry. Extrapolation of azimuth quadrupole systematics from 0.2 TeV suggests that the same-side ridge at 7 TeV is a manifestation of the azimuth quadrupole with amplitude enhanced by applied cuts.