In this Rapid Communication, we determine the fluctuations of the initial eccentricity in heavy-ion collisions caused by fluctuations of the nucleon configurations. This is done via a Monte Carlo implementation of a color glass condensate $k_t$-factorization approach. The eccentricity fluctuations are found to nearly saturate elliptic flow fluctuations measured recently at RHIC. Extrapolations to LHC energies are shown.

• Received 6 July 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.76.041903