{
  "abstract": "Establishing collective flow in small collision systems is a crucial and necessary condition for pinning down the minimum conditions for quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formation. In two-particle correlations, nonflow has been subtracted with good control, pushing the reach of flow measurements down to very small event particle multiplicity $N$. However, the multi-particle nature of collectivity has not been established in the same $N$ regime, because the residual nonflow surviving the subevent procedure in multi-particle cumulants has never been quantified. We develop a general nonflow subtraction framework for $m$-particle cumulants, built around the approximate $1/N^{m-1}$ scaling of nonflow in the independent-source picture. Correlators containing $v_1$ serve as nonflow-dominated estimators, since the $p_{\\mathrm T}$-integrated dipolar flow is expected to be small. Using HIJING as a controlled nonflow-only environment, we test the subtraction for three target observables ($\\langle v_2^2\\rangle$, $\\langle v_2^2δp_{\\mathrm T}\\rangle$, and $c_2\\{4\\}$) in O+O at $\\sqrt{s_{\\mathrm{NN}}} = 5.36$ TeV and 200 GeV and in $d$+Au at $\\sqrt{s_{\\mathrm{NN}}} = 200$ GeV. Most of the nonflow is removed, with residual fractions typically within 20-30% when converted to the two-particle level, though the best estimator differs across the three targets. We identify a multiplicity-reweighting correction, previously overlooked in two-particle correlations, that explains the long-standing undersubtraction of the naive $1/N$-scaling method; its impact grows as a power of the correlator order. The framework gives a systematic route to nonflow subtraction beyond two-particle correlations, broadening the class of multi-particle observables accessible to the small-system flow program.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "Journal reference: Rep. Prog. Phys. 89 (2026) 108601",
  "arxiv": "2606.10258",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Zaining Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jiangyong Jia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinhui Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shengli Huang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chunjian Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhengxi Yan"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1je9372w4d1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.10258",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1p1je9372w4d1",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.10258",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-th"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.10258",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1je9372w4d1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
      "native_id": "2606.10258",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.10258"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ph",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:nucl-ex",
      "subfield": "nuclear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Nonflow Subtraction Beyond Two-Particle Correlations",
  "title_text": "Nonflow Subtraction Beyond Two-Particle Correlations",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1je9372w4d1",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1088/1361-6633/aea707",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}