Testing the Gaussian Approximation to the JIMWLK Equation

Abstract

In processes involving small-x partons, like in deep inelastic scattering and in hadronic collisions at high energy, the final state can be expressed in terms of correlators of Wilson lines. We study such high-point correlators evolving according to the JIMWLK equation and we confirm the results of previous numerical and analytic work, by using an independent method, that the solution to the JIMWLK equation can be very well approximated by an appropriate Gaussian wavefunction. We explore both fixed and running coupling evolution, where in the latter the scale is set according to various prescriptions. As a byproduct, we also numerically confirm to high accuracy the validity of the law governing the behavior of the S-matrix close to the unitarity limit, the Levin-Tuchin formula. We furthermore outline how to calculate correlators with open color indices.

25 pages, 11 figures. v2: minor corrections, one equation added, updated to match published version