A parton shower based on factorization of the quantum density matrix

Abstract

We present first results from a new parton shower event generator, Deductor. Anticipating a need for an improved treatment of parton color and spin, the structure of the generator is based on the quantum density matrix in color and spin space. So far, Deductor implements only a standard spin-averaged treatment of spin in parton splittings. Although Deductor implements an improved treatment of color, in this paper we present results in the standard leading color approximation so that we can compare to the generator Pythia. The algorithms used incorporate a virtuality based shower ordering parameter and massive initial state bottom and charm quarks.