Long-range azimuthal correlations in proton–proton and proton–nucleus collisions from the incoherent scattering of partons

We show that the incoherent elastic scattering of partons, as present in a multi-phase transport model (AMPT), with a modest parton–parton cross-section of σ=1.5–3 mbσ=1.5–3 mb, naturally explains the long-range two-particle azimuthal correlation as observed in proton–proton and proton–nucleus collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.