Study on initial geometry fluctuations via participant plane correlations in heavy ion collisions: part II

Further investigation of the participant plane correlations within a Glauber model framework is presented, focusing on correlations between three or four participant planes of different order. A strong correlation is observed for cos (2Φ2*+3Φ3*-5Φ5*) which is a reflection of the elliptic shape of the overlap region. The correlation between the corresponding experimental event plane angles can be easily measured. Strong correlations of similar geometric origin are also observed for cos (2Φ2*+4Φ4*-6Φ6*), cos (2Φ2*-3Φ3*-4Φ4*+5Φ5*), cos (6Φ2*+3Φ3*-4Φ4*-5Φ5*), cos (Φ1*-2Φ2*-3Φ3*+4Φ4*), cos (Φ1*+6Φ2*-3Φ3*-4Φ4*), and cos (Φ1*+2Φ2*+3Φ3*-6Φ6*), which are also measurable. Experimental measurements of the corresponding event plane correlators in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC may improve our understanding of the physics underlying the measured higher order flow harmonics. (orig.)