Equation of state and collision rate tests of parton cascade models ⋆

We develop two further numerical tests of parton cascade models: the ideal gas equation of state and the collision frequency tests. The equation of state test checks the initial momentum distribution generator and free expansion dynamics in periodic inhomogeneous geometries. The collision rate test is sensitive to spatial inhomogeneities and the collision algorithm. These tests are applied to the recently developed ZPC parton cascade model. The tests helped uncover unphysical correlations induced by one of the commonly used random number generators and showed the necessity of particle subdivisions for convergence to the exact analytic limit. ⋆This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-FG02-93ER40764. Y. Pang was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy grant DE-FG02-92ER40699, DE-AC02-76CH00016, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.