Initial eccentricity fluctuations and their relation to higher-order flow harmonics

Monte Carlo simulations are used to compute the centrality dependence of the participant eccentricities (epsilon(n)) in Au + Au collisions for the two primary models currently employed for eccentricity estimates-the Glauber and the factorized Kharzeev-Levin-Nardi (fKLN) models. They suggest specific testable predictions for the magnitude and centrality dependence of the flow coefficients v(n), respectively measured relative to the event planes Psi(n). They also indicate that the ratios of several of these coefficients may provide an additional constraint for distinguishing between the models. Such a constraint could be important for a more precise determination of the specific viscosity of the matter produced in heavy ion collisions.