Effects of non-causal artifacts in a hadronic rescattering model for RHIC collisions

Abstract

It has been shown that calculations based on a hadronic rescattering model agree reasonably well with experimental results from RHIC Au+Au collisions. Because of the large particle densities intrinsically present at the early time steps of Monte Carlo calculations attempting to model RHIC collisions undesirable artifacts resulting in non-causality may be present. The effects of such artifacts on observables calculated from the rescattering model are studied in the present work in two ways: 1) varying the time step and 2) using the subdivision method. It is shown that although non-causal artifacts are present in the rescattering model they have no appreciable effects on the calculated observables, thus strengthing the confidence in the results of this rescattering model for RHIC energies.