Using Rivet to perform model comparisons in Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics

In the PHENIX experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory from 2000-2016, we collided nuclei that were traveling near the speed of light and observed a hot and dense form of matter called the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Physical properties of the QGP can be determined through systematic comparison between data and models. The Rivet (Robust Independent Validation of Experiment and Theory) toolkit simplifies the process of comparison between different Monte Carlo event generators and the experimental data. Rivet only requires one code to be written to be used for multiple models whereas other approaches usually require code which is only used once. Several Rivet analyses are implemented and used to compare Monte Carlo models such as PYTHIA Angantyr and JETSCAPE (Jet Energy-loss Tomography with a Statistically and Computationally Advanced Program Envelope) with data from the PHENIX experiment.