Eccentricity fluctuations and its possible effect on elliptic flow measurements

Abstract

The elliptic flow measured at RHIC has been interpreted as a signature for strong partonic interactions early in the collision and as an indication of a well developed quark-gluon plasma phase. The measured values of elliptic flow, using methods based on multi-particle correlations, are affected by fluctuations in the magnitude of the elliptic flow. In this Letter, using a Monte Carlo Glauber calculation, we estimate what the possible effect of spatial eccentricity fluctuations is on the determination of elliptic flow.