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The production of J/ψ is measured as a function of charged-particle multiplicity at forward rapidity in proton-proton (pp) collisions at center-of-mass energies s√ = 5.02 and 13 TeV. The J/ψ mesons are reconstructed via their decay into dimuons in the rapidity interval (2.5 < y < 4.0), whereas the charged-particle multiplicity density (dNch/dη) is measured at midrapidity (|η| < 1). The production rate as a function of multiplicity is reported as the ratio of the yield in a given multiplicity interval to the multiplicity-integrated one. This observable shows a linear increase with charged-particle multiplicity normalized to the corresponding average value for inelastic events (dNch/dη/〈dNch/dη〉), at both the colliding energies. Measurements are compared with available ALICE results at midrapidity and theoretical model calculations. First measurement of the mean transverse momentum (〈pT〉) of J/ψ in pp collisions exhibits an increasing trend as a function of dNch/dη/〈dNch/dη〉 showing a saturation towards high charged-particle multiplicities.
The production of prompt D0, D+, and D*+ mesons was measured at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) in Pb–Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decay channels and their production yields were measured in central (0–10%) and semicentral (30–50%) collisions. The measurement was performed up to a transverse momentum (pT) of 36 or 50 GeV/c depending on the D meson species and the centrality interval. For the first time in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC, the yield of D0 mesons was measured down to pT = 0, which allowed a model-independent determination of the pT-integrated yield per unit of rapidity (dN/dy). A maximum suppression by a factor 5 and 2.5 was observed with the nuclear modification factor (RAA) of prompt D mesons at pT = 6–8 GeV/c for the 0–10% and 30–50% centrality classes, respectively. The D-meson RAA is compared with that of charged pions, charged hadrons, and J/ψ mesons as well as with theoretical predictions. The analysis of the agreement between the measured RAA, elliptic (v2) and triangular (v3) flow, and the model predictions allowed us to constrain the charm spatial diffusion coefficient Ds. Furthermore the comparison of RAA and v2 with different implementations of the same models provides an important insight into the role of radiative energy loss as well as charm quark recombination in the hadronisation mechanisms.
The production of J/ψ is measured at midrapidity (|y| < 0.9) in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 5.02 and 13 TeV, through the dielectron decay channel, using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data sets used for the analyses correspond to integrated luminosities of Lint = 19.4 ± 0.4 nb−1 and Lint = 32.2 ± 0.5 nb−1 at s√ = 5.02 and 13 TeV, respectively. The fraction of non-prompt J/ψ mesons, i.e. those originating from the decay of beauty hadrons, is measured down to a transverse momentum pT = 2 GeV/c (1 GeV/c) at s√ = 5.02 TeV (13 TeV). The pT and rapidity (y) differential cross sections, as well as the corresponding values integrated over pT and y, are carried out separately for prompt and non-prompt J/ψ mesons. The results are compared with measurements from other experiments and theoretical calculations based on quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The shapes of the pT and y distributions of beauty quarks predicted by state-of-the-art perturbative QCD models are used to extrapolate an estimate of the bb¯¯¯ pair cross section at midrapidity and in the total phase space. The total bb¯¯¯ cross sections are found to be σbb¯¯¯ = 541 ± 45 (stat.) ± 69 (syst.)+10−12 (extr.) μb and σbb¯¯¯ = 218±37 (stat.)±31 (syst.)+8.2−9.1 (extr.) μb at s√ = 13 and 5.02 TeV, respectively. The value obtained from the combination of ALICE and LHCb measurements in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV is also provided.
The jet angularities are a class of jet substructure observables which characterize the angular and momentum distribution of particles within jets. These observables are sensitive to momentum scales ranging from perturbative hard scatterings to nonperturbative fragmentation into final-state hadrons. We report measurements of several groomed and ungroomed jet angularities in pp collisions at s√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector. Jets are reconstructed using charged particle tracks at midrapidity (|η| < 0.9). The anti-kT algorithm is used with jet resolution parameters R = 0.2 and R = 0.4 for several transverse momentum pchT jet intervals in the 20–100 GeV/c range. Using the jet grooming algorithm Soft Drop, the sensitivity to softer, wide-angle processes, as well as the underlying event, can be reduced in a way which is well-controlled in theoretical calculations. We report the ungroomed jet angularities, λα, and groomed jet angularities, λα,g, to investigate the interplay between perturbative and nonperturbative effects at low jet momenta. Various angular exponent parameters α = 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 are used to systematically vary the sensitivity of the observable to collinear and soft radiation. Results are compared to analytical predictions at next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy, which provide a generally good description of the data in the perturbative regime but exhibit discrepancies in the nonperturbative regime. Moreover, these measurements serve as a baseline for future ones in heavy-ion collisions by providing new insight into the interplay between perturbative and nonperturbative effects in the angular and momentum substructure of jets. They supply crucial guidance on the selection of jet resolution parameter, jet transverse momentum, and angular scaling variable for jet quenching studies.
A measurement of the inclusive b-jet production cross section is presented in pp and p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV, using data collected with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The jets were reconstructed in the central rapidity region |η| < 0.5 from charged particles using the anti-kT algorithm with resolution parameter R = 0.4. Identification of b jets exploits the long lifetime of b hadrons, using the properties of secondary vertices and impact parameter distributions. The pT-differential inclusive production cross section of b jets, as well as the corresponding inclusive b-jet fraction, are reported for pp and p-Pb collisions in the jet transverse momentum range 10 ≤ pT,ch jet ≤ 100 GeV/c, together with the nuclear modification factor, Rb−jetpPb. The analysis thus extends the lower pT limit of b-jet measurements at the LHC. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity, indicating that the production of b jets in p-Pb at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV is not affected by cold nuclear matter effects within the current precision. The measurements are well reproduced by POWHEG NLO pQCD calculations with PYTHIA fragmentation.
Understanding the production mechanism of light (anti)nuclei is one of the key challenges of nuclear physics and has important consequences for astrophysics, since it provides an input for indirect dark-matter searches in space. In this paper, the latest results about the production of light (anti)nuclei in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV are presented, focusing on the comparison with the predictions of coalescence and thermal models. For the first time, the coalescence parameters B2 for deuterons and B3 for helions are compared with parameter-free theoretical predictions that are directly constrained by the femtoscopic measurement of the source radius in the same event class. A fair description of the data with a Gaussian wave function is observed for both deuteron and helion, supporting the coalescence mechanism for the production of light (anti)nuclei in pp collisions. This method paves the way for future investigations of the internal structure of more complex nuclear clusters, including the hypertriton.
Measurements of elliptic (v2) and triangular (v3) flow coefficients of π±, K±, p+p¯¯¯, K0S, and Λ+Λ¯¯¯¯ obtained with the scalar product method in Xe-Xe collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.44 TeV are presented. The results are obtained in the rapidity range |y| < 0.5 and reported as a function of transverse momentum, pT, for several collision centrality classes. The flow coefficients exhibit a particle mass dependence for pT < 3 GeV/c, while a grouping according to particle type (i.e., meson and baryon) is found at intermediate transverse momenta (3 < pT < 8 GeV/c). The magnitude of the baryon v2 is larger than that of mesons up to pT = 6 GeV/c. The centrality dependence of the shape evolution of the pT-differential v2 is studied for the various hadron species. The v2 coefficients of π±, K±, and p+p¯¯¯ are reproduced by MUSIC hydrodynamic calculations coupled to a hadronic cascade model (UrQMD) for pT < 1 GeV/c. A comparison with vn measurements in the corresponding centrality intervals in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV yields an enhanced v2 in central collisions and diminished value in semicentral collisions.
The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section of the charm-strange baryon Ξ0c is measured at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) via its semileptonic decay into e+Ξ−νe in pp collisions at s√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The ratio of the pT-differential Ξ0c-baryon and D0-meson production cross sections is also reported. The measurements are compared with simulations with different tunes of the PYTHIA 8 event generator, with predictions from a statistical hadronisation model (SHM) with a largely augmented set of charm-baryon states beyond the current lists of the Particle Data Group, and with models including hadronisation via quark coalescence. The pT-integrated cross section of prompt Ξ0c-baryon production at midrapidity is also reported, which is used to calculate the baryon-to-meson ratio Ξ0c/D0 = 0.20 ± 0.04 (stat.)+0.08−0.07 (syst.). These results provide an additional indication of a modification of the charm fragmentation from e+e− and e−p collisions to pp collisions.
The ALICE Collaboration reports the first fully-corrected measurements of the N-subjettiness observable for track-based jets in heavy-ion collisions. This study is performed using data recorded in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energies of s√ = 7 TeV and sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV, respectively. In particular the ratio of 2-subjettiness to 1-subjettiness, τ2/τ1, which is sensitive to the rate of two-pronged jet substructure, is presented. Energy loss of jets traversing the strongly interacting medium in heavy-ion collisions is expected to change the rate of two-pronged substructure relative to vacuum. The results are presented for jets with a resolution parameter of R = 0.4 and charged jet transverse momentum of 40 ≤ pT,jet ≤ 60 GeV/c, which constitute a larger jet resolution and lower jet transverse momentum interval than previous measurements in heavy-ion collisions. This has been achieved by utilising a semi-inclusive hadron-jet coincidence technique to suppress the larger jet combinatorial background in this kinematic region. No significant modification of the τ2/τ1 observable for track-based jets in Pb-Pb collisions is observed relative to vacuum PYTHIA6 and PYTHIA8 references at the same collision energy. The measurements of τ2/τ1, together with the splitting aperture angle ∆R, are also performed in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV for inclusive jets. These results are compared with PYTHIA calculations at s√ = 7 TeV, in order to validate the model as a vacuum reference for the Pb-Pb centre-of-mass energy. The PYTHIA references for τ2/τ1 are shifted to larger values compared to the measurement in pp collisions. This hints at a reduction in the rate of two-pronged jets in Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions.
Angular correlations of heavy-flavour and charged particles in high-energy proton–proton collisions are sensitive to the production mechanisms of heavy quarks and to their fragmentation as well as hadronisation processes. The measurement of the azimuthal-correlation function of prompt D mesons with charged particles in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=13 TeV with the ALICE detector is reported, considering D0, D+, and D∗+ mesons in the transverse-momentum interval 3<pT<36 GeV/c at midrapidity (|y|<0.5), and charged particles with pT>0.3 GeV/c and pseudorapidity |η|<0.8. This measurement has an improved precision and provides an extended transverse-momentum coverage compared to previous ALICE measurements at lower energies. The study is also performed as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity, showing no modifications of the correlation function with multiplicity within uncertainties. The properties and the transverse-momentum evolution of the near- and away-side correlation peaks are studied and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. Among those considered, PYTHIA8 and POWHEG+PYTHIA8 provide the best description of the measured observables. The obtained results can provide guidance on tuning the generators.
We present measurements of two-particle correlations with neutral pion trigger particles of transverse momenta 8<pTtrig<16 GeV/c and associated charged particles of 0.5<pTassoc<10 GeV/c versus the azimuthal angle difference Δφ at midrapidity in pp and central Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV with ALICE. The new measurements exploit associated charged hadrons down to 0.5 GeV/c, which significantly extends our previous measurement that only used charged hadrons above 3 GeV/c. After subtracting the contributions of the flow background, v2 to v5, the per-trigger yields are extracted for |Δφ|<0.7 on the near and for |Δφ−π|<1.1 on the away side. The ratio of per-trigger yields in Pb–Pb to those in pp collisions, IAA, is measured on the near and away side for the 0–10% most central Pb–Pb collisions. On the away side, the per-trigger yields in Pb–Pb are strongly suppressed to the level of IAA≈0.6 for pTassoc>3 GeV/c, while with decreasing momenta an enhancement develops reaching about 5 at low pTassoc. On the near side, an enhancement of IAA between 1.2 at the highest to 1.8 at the lowest pTassoc is observed. The data are compared to parton-energy-loss predictions of the JEWEL and AMPT event generators, as well as to a perturbative QCD calculation with medium-modified fragmentation functions. All calculations qualitatively describe the away-side suppression at high pTassoc. Only AMPT captures the enhancement at low pTassoc, both on the near and away side. However, it also underpredicts IAA above 5 GeV/c, in particular on the near-side.
Production of K0S, Λ (Λ), Ξ±, and Ω± in jets and in the underlying event in pp and p–Pb collisions
()
The production of strange hadrons (K0S, Λ, Ξ±, and Ω±), baryon-to-meson ratios (Λ/K0S, Ξ/K0S, and Ω/K0S), and baryon-to-baryon ratios (Ξ/Λ, Ω/Λ, and Ω/Ξ) associated with jets and the underlying event were measured as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV and p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The inclusive production of the same particle species and the corresponding ratios are also reported. The production of multi-strange hadrons, Ξ± and Ω±, and their associated particle ratios in jets and in the underlying event are measured for the first time. In both pp and p-Pb collisions, the baryon-to-meson and baryon-to-baryon yield ratios measured in jets differ from the inclusive particle production for low and intermediate hadron pT (0.6−6 GeV/c). Ratios measured in the underlying event are in turn similar to those measured for inclusive particle production. In pp collisions, the particle production in jets is compared with PYTHIA 8 predictions with three colour-reconnection implementation modes. None of them fully reproduces the data in the measured hadron pT region. The maximum deviation is observed for Ξ± and Ω±, which reaches a factor of about six. In p-Pb collisions, there is no significant event-multiplicity dependence for particle production in jets, in contrast to what is observed in the underlying event. The presented measurements provide novel constraints on hadronisation and its Monte Carlo description. In particular, they demonstrate that the fragmentation of jets alone is insufficient to describe the strange and multi-strange particle production in hadronic collisions at LHC energies.
Anisotropic flow and flow fluctuations of identified hadrons in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV
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The first measurements of elliptic flow of π±, K±, p+p¯¯¯, K0S, Λ+Λ¯¯¯¯, ϕ, Ξ−+Ξ+, and Ω−+Ω+ using multiparticle cumulants in Pb−Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV are presented. Results obtained with two- (v2{2}) and four-particle cumulants (v2{4}) are shown as a function of transverse momentum, pT, for various collision centrality intervals. Combining the data for both v2{2} and v2{4} also allows us to report the first measurements of the mean elliptic flow, elliptic flow fluctuations, and relative elliptic flow fluctuations for various hadron species. These observables probe the event-by-event eccentricity fluctuations in the initial state and the contributions from the dynamic evolution of the expanding quark-gluon plasma. The characteristic features observed in previous pT-differential anisotropic flow measurements for identified hadrons with two-particle correlations, namely the mass ordering at low pT and the approximate scaling with the number of constituent quarks at intermediate pT, are similarly present in the four-particle correlations and the combinations of v2{2} and v2{4}. In addition, a particle species dependence of flow fluctuations is observed that could indicate a significant contribution from final state hadronic interactions. The comparison between experimental measurements and CoLBT model calculations, which combine the various physics processes of hydrodynamics, quark coalescence, and jet fragmentation, illustrates their importance over a wide pT range.
Three-body nuclear forces play an important role in the structure of nuclei and hypernuclei and are also incorporated in models to describe the dynamics of dense baryonic matter, such as in neutron stars. So far, only indirect measurements anchored to the binding energies of nuclei can be used to constrain the three-nucleon force, and if hyperons are considered, the scarce data on hypernuclei impose only weak constraints on the three-body forces. In this work, we present the first direct measurement of the p−p−p and p−p−Λ systems in terms of three-particle mixed moments carried out for pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. Three-particle cumulants are extracted from the normalised mixed moments by applying the Kubo formalism, where the three-particle interaction contribution to these moments can be isolated after subtracting the known two-body interaction terms. A negative cumulant is found for the p−p−p system, hinting to the presence of a residual three-body effect while for p−p−Λ the cumulant is consistent with zero. This measurement demonstrates the accessibility of three-baryon correlations at the LHC.
The transverse-momentum (pT) spectra of K∗(892)0 and ϕ(1020) measured with the ALICE detector up to pT = 16 GeV/c in the rapidity range −1.2<y<0.3, in p-Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV are presented as a function of charged particle multiplicity and rapidity. The measured pT distributions show a dependence on both multiplicity and rapidity at low pT whereas no significant dependence is observed at high pT. A rapidity dependence is observed in the pT-integrated yield (dN/dy), whereas the mean transverse momentum (⟨pT⟩) shows a flat behavior as a function of rapidity. The rapidity asymmetry (Yasym) at low pT ( < 5 GeV/c) is more significant for higher multiplicity classes. At high pT, no significant rapidity asymmetry is observed in any of the multiplicity classes. Both K∗(892)0 and ϕ(1020) show similar Yasym. The nuclear modification factor (QCP) as a function of pT shows a Cronin-like enhancement at intermediate pT, which is more prominent at higher rapidities (Pb-going direction) and in higher multiplicity classes. At high pT (> 5 GeV/c), the QCP values are greater than unity and no significant rapidity dependence is observed.
Measurement of the J/ψ polarization with respect to the event plane in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC
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We study the polarization of inclusive J/ψ produced in Pb−Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV at the LHC in the dimuon channel, via the measurement of the angular distribution of its decay products. We perform the study in the rapidity region 2.5<y<4, for three transverse momentum intervals (2<pT<4, 4<pT<6, 6<pT<10 GeV/c) and as a function of the centrality of the collision for 2<pT<6 GeV/c. For the first time, the polarization is measured with respect to the event plane of the collision, by considering the angle between the positive-charge decay muon in the J/ψ rest frame and the axis perpendicular to the event-plane vector in the laboratory system. A small transverse polarization is measured, with a significance reaching 3.9σ at low pT and for intermediate centrality values. The polarization could be connected with the behaviour of the quark−gluon plasma, formed in Pb−Pb collisions, as a rotating fluid with large vorticity, as well as with the existence of a strong magnetic field in the early stage of its formation.
The interaction of K− with protons is characterised by the presence of several coupled channels, systems like K¯¯¯¯0n and πΣ with a similar mass and the same quantum numbers as the K−p state. The strengths of these couplings to the K−p system are of crucial importance for the understanding of the nature of the Λ(1405) resonance and of the attractive K−p strong interaction. In this article, we present measurements of the K−p correlation functions in relative momentum space obtained in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV, in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV, and (semi)peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV. The emitting source size, composed of a core radius anchored to the K+p correlation and of a resonance halo specific to each particle pair, varies between 1 and 2 fm in these collision systems. The strength and the effects of the K¯¯¯¯0n and πΣ inelastic channels on the measured K−p correlation function are investigated in the different colliding systems by comparing the data with state-of-the-art models of chiral potentials. A novel approach to determine the conversion weights ω, necessary to quantify the amount of produced inelastic channels in the correlation function, is presented. In this method, particle yields are estimated from thermal model predictions, and their kinematic distribution from blast-wave fits to measured data. The comparison of chiral potentials to the measured K−p interaction indicates that, while the πΣ−K−p dynamics is well reproduced by the model, the coupling to the K¯¯¯¯0n channel in the model is currently underestimated.
This article presents new measurements of the fragmentation properties of jets in both proton-proton (pp) and heavy-ion collisions with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. We report distributions of the fraction zr of transverse momentum carried by subjets of radius r within jets of radius R. Charged-particle jets are reconstructed at midrapidity using the anti-kT algorithm with jet radius R=0.4, and subjets are reconstructed by reclustering the jet constituents using the anti-kT algorithm with radii r=0.1 and r=0.2. In pp collisions, we measure both the inclusive and leading subjet distributions. We compare these measurements to perturbative calculations at next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, which suggest a large impact of threshold resummation and hadronization effects on the zr distribution. In heavy-ion collisions, we measure the leading subjet distributions, which allow access to a region of harder jet fragmentation than has been probed by previous measurements of jet quenching via hadron fragmentation distributions. The zr distributions enable extraction of the parton-to-subjet fragmentation function and allow for tests of the universality of jet fragmentation functions in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). We find no significant modification of zr distributions in Pb-Pb compared to pp collisions. However, the distributions are also consistent with a hardening trend for zr<0.95, as predicted by several jet quenching models. As zr→1 our results indicate that any such hardening effects cease, exposing qualitatively new possibilities to disentangle competing jet quenching mechanisms. By comparing our results to theoretical calculations based on an independent extraction of the parton-to-jet fragmentation function, we find consistency with the universality of jet fragmentation and no indication of factorization breaking in the QGP.
This article presents measurements of the groomed jet radius and momentum splitting fraction in pp collisions at s√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Inclusive charged-particle jets are reconstructed at midrapidity using the anti-kT algorithm for transverse momentum 60<pchjetT<80 GeV/c. We report results using two different grooming algorithms: soft drop and, for the first time, dynamical grooming. For each grooming algorithm, a variety of grooming settings are used in order to explore the impact of collinear radiation on these jet substructure observables. These results are compared to perturbative calculations that include resummation of large logarithms at all orders in the strong coupling constant. We find good agreement of the theoretical predictions with the data for all grooming settings considered.
The production of non-prompt D0 mesons from beauty-hadron decays was measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in Pb-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. Their nuclear modification factor (RAA), measured for the first time down to pT=1 GeV/c in the 0−10% and 30−50% centrality classes, indicates a significant suppression, up to a factor of about three, for pT>5 GeV/c in the 0−10% central Pb-Pb collisions. The data are described by models that include both collisional and radiative processes in the calculation of beauty-quark energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma, and quark recombination in addition to fragmentation as a hadronisation mechanism. The ratio of the non-prompt to prompt D0-meson RAA is larger than unity for pT>4 GeV/c in the 0−10% central Pb-Pb collisions, as predicted by models in which beauty quarks lose less energy than charm quarks in the quark-gluon plasma because of their larger mass.
The first measurement of event-by-event antideuteron number fluctuations in high energy heavy-ion collisions is presented. The measurements are carried out at midrapidity (|η|<0.8) as a function of collision centrality in Pb−Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector. A significant negative correlation between the produced antiprotons and antideuterons is observed in all collision centralities. The results are compared with a state-of-the-art coalescence calculation. While it describes the ratio of higher order cumulants of the antideuteron multiplicity distribution, it fails to describe quantitatively the magnitude of the correlation between antiproton and antideuteron production. On the other hand, thermal-statistical model calculations describe all the measured observables within uncertainties only for correlation volumes that are different with respect to those describing proton yields and a similar measurement of net-proton number fluctuations.
This article reports on the inclusive production cross section of several quarkonium states, J/ψ, ψ(2S), Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S), measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC, in pp collisions at s√=5.02 TeV. The analysis is performed in the dimuon decay channel at forward rapidity (2.5<y<4). The integrated cross sections and transverse-momentum (pT) and rapidity (y) differential cross sections for J/ψ, ψ(2S), Υ(1S), and the ψ(2S)-to-J/ψ cross section ratios are presented. The integrated cross sections, assuming unpolarized quarkonia, are: σJ/ψ(pT<20 GeV/c) = 5.88 ± 0.03 ± 0.34 μb, σψ(2S)(pT<12 GeV/c) = 0.87 ± 0.06 ± 0.10 μb, σΥ(1S)(pT<15 GeV/c) = 45.5 ± 3.9 ± 3.5 nb, σΥ(2S)(pT<15 GeV/c) = 22.4 ± 3.2 ± 2.7 nb, and σΥ(3S)(pT<15 GeV/c) = 4.9 ± 2.2 ± 1.0 nb, where the first (second) uncertainty is the statistical (systematic) one. For the first time, the cross sections of the three Υ states, as well as the ψ(2S) one as a function of pT and y, are measured at s√=5.02 TeV at forward rapidity. These measurements also significantly extend the J/ψ pT reach and supersede previously published results. A comparison with ALICE measurements in pp collisions at s√=2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV is presented and the energy dependence of quarkonium production cross sections is discussed. Finally, the results are compared with the predictions from several production models.
The pT-differential production cross sections of prompt D0, Λ+c, and Σ0,++c(2455) charmed hadrons are measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV. This is the first measurement of Σ0,++c production in hadronic collisions. Assuming the same production yield for the three Σ0,+,++c isospin states, the baryon-to-meson cross section ratios Σ0,+,++c/D0 and Λ+c/D0 are calculated in the transverse momentum (pT) intervals 2<pT<12 GeV/c and 1<pT<24 GeV/c. Values significantly larger than in e+e− collisions are observed, indicating for the first time that baryon enhancement in hadronic collisions also extends to the Σc. The feed-down contribution to Λ+c production from Σ0,+,++c is also reported and is found to be larger than in e+e− collisions. The data are compared with predictions from event generators and other phenomenological models, providing a sensitive test of the different charm-hadronisation mechanisms implemented in the models.
The pT-differential cross sections of prompt charm-strange baryons Ξ0c and Ξ+c were measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in proton−proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s√=13 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The Ξ0c baryon was reconstructed via both the semileptonic decay (Ξ−e+νe) and the hadronic decay (Ξ−π+) channels. The Ξ+c baryon was reconstructed via the hadronic decay (Ξ−π+π+) channel. The branching-fraction ratio BR(Ξ0c→Ξ−e+νe)/BR(Ξ0c→Ξ−π+) = 1.38 ± 0.14 (stat) ± 0.22 (syst) was measured with a total uncertainty reduced by a factor of about 3 with respect to the current world average reported by the Particle Data Group. The transverse momentum (pT) dependence of the Ξ0c- and Ξ+c-baryon production relative to the D0-meson and to the Σ0,+,++c- and Λ+c-baryon production are reported. The baryon-to-meson ratio increases towards low pT up to a value of approximately 0.3. The measurements are compared with various models that take different hadronisation mechanisms into consideration. The results provide stringent constraints to these theoretical calculations and additional evidence that different processes are involved in charm hadronisation in electron−positron (e+e−) and hadronic collisions.
The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 GeV/c in p–Pb collisions and the resolution at high transverse momentum improves by about 40% when including the TRD information in track reconstruction. The triggering capability is demonstrated both for jet, light nuclei, and electron selection.
This Letter presents the first experimental evidence of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a ϕ meson. The result is obtained from two-particle correlations of combined p-ϕ⊕p¯¯¯-ϕ pairs measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV by the ALICE collaboration. The spin-averaged scattering length and effective range of the p-ϕ interaction are extracted from the fully corrected correlation function employing the Lednický-Lyuboshits approach. In particular, the imaginary part of the scattering length vanishes within uncertainties, indicating that inelastic processes do not play a prominent role for the p-ϕ interaction. These data demonstrate that the interaction is dominated by elastic p-ϕ scattering. Furthermore, an analysis employing phenomenological Gaussian- and Yukawa-type potentials is conducted. Under the assumption of the latter, the N-ϕ coupling constant is found to be gN−ϕ=0.14±0.03(stat.)±0.02(syst.). This work provides valuable experimental input to accomplish a self-consistent description of the N-ϕ interaction, which is particularly relevant for the more fundamental studies on partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear medium.
The transverse-momentum (pT) spectra and coalescence parameters B2 of (anti)deuterons are measured in p-p collisions at √s=13 TeV for the first time in and out of jets. In this measurement, the direction of the leading particle with the highest pT in the event (p lead T>5 GeV/c) is used as an approximation for the jet axis. The event is consequently divided into three azimuthal regions, and the jet signal is obtained as the difference between the toward region, that contains jet fragmentation products in addition to the underlying event (UE), and the transverse region, which is dominated by the UE. The coalescence parameter in the jet is found to be approximately a factor of 10 larger than that in the underlying event. This experimental observation is consistent with the coalescence picture and can be attributed to the smaller average phase-space distance between nucleons in the jet cone as compared with the underlying event. The results presented in this Letter are compared to predictions from a simple nucleon coalescence model, where the phase-space distributions of nucleons are generated using pythia8 with the Monash 2013 tuning, and to predictions from a deuteron production model based on ordinary nuclear reactions with parametrized energy-dependent cross sections tuned on data. The latter model is implemented in pythia8.3. Both models reproduce the observed large difference between in-jet and out-of-jet coalescence parameters, although the almost flat trend of the BJet2 is not reproduced by the models, which instead give a decreasing trend.
Event-by-event fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum of charged particles produced in pp collisions at s√ = 0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV, and Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−−√ = 2.76 TeV are studied as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Dynamical fluctuations indicative of correlated particle emission are observed in all systems. The results in pp collisions show little dependence on collision energy. The Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET are in qualitative agreement with the data. Peripheral Pb-Pb data exhibit a similar multiplicity dependence as that observed in pp. In central Pb-Pb, the results deviate from this trend, featuring a significant reduction of the fluctuation strength. The results in Pb--Pb are in qualitative agreement with previous measurements in Au-Au at lower collision energies and with expectations from models that incorporate collective phenomena.
In this Letter, the first measurement of the inelastic cross section for antitriton−nucleus interactions is reported, covering the momentum range of 0.8≤p<2.4 GeV/c. The measurement is carried out using data recorded with the ALICE detector in pp and Pb−Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of 13 TeV and 5.02 TeV, respectively. The detector material serves as an absorber for antitriton nuclei. The raw yield of (anti)triton nuclei measured with the ALICE apparatus is compared to the results from detailed ALICE simulations based on the GEANT4 toolkit for the propagation of (anti)particles through matter, allowing one to quantify the inelastic interaction probability in the detector material. This analysis complements the measurement of the inelastic cross section of antinuclei up to A=3 carried out by the ALICE Collaboration, and demonstrates the feasibility of the study of the isospin dependence of inelastic interaction cross section with the analysis techniques presented in this Letter.
The pT-differential production cross section of electrons from semileptonic decays of heavy-flavor hadrons has been measured at mid-rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s√=2.76 TeV in the transverse momentum range 0.5 < pT < 12 GeV/c with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The analysis was performed using minimum bias events and events triggered by the electromagnetic calorimeter. Predictions from perturbative QCD calculations agree with the data within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties.
The differential charged jet cross sections, jet fragmentation distributions, and jet shapes are measured in minimum bias proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energy s√=7 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed from charged particle momenta in the mid-rapidity region using the sequential recombination kT and anti-kT as well as the SISCone jet finding algorithms with several resolution parameters in the range R=0.2 to 0.6. Differential jet production cross sections measured with the three jet finders are in agreement in the transverse momentum (pT) interval 20<pjet,chT<100 GeV/c. They are also consistent with prior measurements carried out at the LHC by the ATLAS collaboration. The jet charged particle multiplicity rises monotonically with increasing jet pT, in qualitative agreement with prior observations at lower energies. The transverse profiles of leading jets are investigated using radial momentum density distributions as well as distributions of the average radius containing 80% (⟨R80⟩) of the reconstructed jet pT. The fragmentation of leading jets with R=0.4 using scaled pT spectra of the jet constituents is studied. The measurements are compared to model calculations from event generators (PYTHIA, PHOJET, HERWIG). The measured radial density distributions and ⟨R80⟩ distributions are well described by the PYTHIA model (tune Perugia-2011). The fragmentation distributions are better described by HERWIG.
The elliptic flow of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.7) is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The particle azimuthal distribution with respect to the reaction plane can be parametrized with a Fourier expansion, where the second coefficient (v2) represents the elliptic flow. The v2 coefficient of inclusive electrons is measured in three centrality classes (0-10%, 10-20% and 20-40%) with the event plane and the scalar product methods in the transverse momentum (pT) intervals 0.5-13 GeV/c and 0.5-8 GeV/c, respectively. After subtracting the background, mainly from photon conversions and Dalitz decays of neutral mesons, a positive v2 of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays is observed in all centrality classes, with a maximum significance of 5.9σ in the interval 2< pT < 2.5 GeV/c in semi-central collisions (20-40%). The value of v2 decreases towards more central collisions at low and intermediate pT (0.5 < pT < 3 GeV/c). The v2 of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at mid-rapidity is found to be similar to the one of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4). The results are described within uncertainties by model calculations including substantial elastic interactions of heavy quarks with an expanding strongly-interacting medium.
Background: In the context of the investigation of the quark gluon plasma produced in heavy-ion collisions, hadrons containing heavy (charm or beauty) quarks play a special role for the characterization of the hot and dense medium created in the interaction. The measurement of the production of charm and beauty hadrons in proton–proton collisions, besides providing the necessary reference for the studies in heavy-ion reactions, constitutes an important test of perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) calculations. Heavy-flavor production in proton–nucleus collisions is sensitive to the various effects related to the presence of nuclei in the colliding system, commonly denoted cold-nuclear-matter effects. Most of these effects are expected to modify open-charm production at low transverse momenta (pT) and, so far, no measurement of D-meson production down to zero transverse momentum was available at mid-rapidity at the energies attained at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Purpose: The measurements of the production cross sections of promptly produced charmed mesons in p-Pb collisions at the LHC down to pT=0 and the comparison to the results from pp interactions are aimed at the assessment of cold-nuclear-matter effects on open-charm production, which is crucial for the interpretation of the results from Pb-Pb collisions.
Methods: The prompt charmed mesons D0,D+,D*+, and D+s were measured at mid-rapidity in p-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √sNN=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. D mesons were reconstructed from their decays D0→K−π+,D+→K−π+π+, D*+→D0π+,D+s→ϕπ+→K−K+π+, and their charge conjugates, using an analysis method based on the selection of decay topologies displaced from the interaction vertex. In addition, the prompt D0 production cross section was measured in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV and p-Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV down to pT=0 using an analysis technique that is based on the estimation and subtraction of the combinatorial background, without reconstruction of the D0 decay vertex.
Results: The production cross section in pp collisions is described within uncertainties by different implementations of pQCD calculations down to pT=0. This allowed also a determination of the total c¯c production cross section in pp collisions, which is more precise than previous ALICE measurements because it is not affected by uncertainties owing to the extrapolation to pT=0. The nuclear modification factor RpPb(pT), defined as the ratio of the pT-differential D meson cross section in p-Pb collisions and that in pp collisions scaled by the mass number of the Pb nucleus, was calculated for the four D-meson species and found to be compatible with unity within uncertainties. The results are compared to theoretical calculations that include cold-nuclear-matter effects and to transport model calculations incorporating the interactions of charm quarks with an expanding deconfined medium.
Conclusions: These measurements add experimental evidence that the modification of the D-meson transverse momentum distributions observed in Pb–Pb collisions with respect to pp interactions is due to strong final-state effects induced by the interactions of the charm quarks with the hot and dense partonic medium created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. The current precision of the measurement does not allow us to draw conclusions on the role of the different cold-nuclear-matter effects and on the possible presence of additional hot-medium effects in p-Pb collisions. However, the analysis technique without decay-vertex reconstruction, applied on future larger data samples, should provide access to the physics-rich range down to pT=0.
The strength of forward-backward (FB) multiplicity correlations is measured by the ALICE detector in proton-proton (pp) collisions at s√=0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|η|<0.8) for the transverse momentum pT>0.3 GeV/c. Two separate pseudorapidity windows of width (δη) ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 are chosen symmetrically around η=0. The multiplicity correlation strength (bcor) is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity gap (ηgap) between the two windows as well as the width of these windows. The correlation strength is found to decrease with increasing ηgap and shows a non-linear increase with δη. A sizable increase of the correlation strength with the collision energy, which cannot be explained exclusively by the increase of the mean multiplicity inside the windows, is observed. The correlation coefficient is also measured for multiplicities in different configurations of two azimuthal sectors selected within the symmetric FB η-windows. Two different contributions, the short-range (SR) and the long-range (LR), are observed. The energy dependence of bcor is found to be weak for the SR component while it is strong for the LR component. Moreover, the correlation coefficient is studied for particles belonging to various transverse momentum intervals chosen to have the same mean multiplicity. Both SR and LR contributions to bcor are found to increase with pT in this case. Results are compared to PYTHIA and PHOJET event generators and to a string-based phenomenological model. The observed dependencies of bcor add new constraints on phenomenological models.
We report the results of the femtoscopic analysis of pairs of identical pions measured in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV. Femtoscopic radii are determined as a function of event multiplicity and pair momentum in three spatial dimensions. As in the pp collision system, the analysis is complicated by the presence of sizable background correlation structures in addition to the femtoscopic signal. The radii increase with event multiplicity and decrease with pair transverse momentum. When taken at comparable multiplicity, the radii measured in p-Pb collisions, at high multiplicity and low pair transverse momentum, are 10-20% higher than those observed in pp collisions but below those observed in A-A collisions. The results are compared to hydrodynamic predictions at large event multiplicity as well as discussed in the context of calculations based on gluon saturation.
We have studied the transverse-momentum (pT) dependence of the inclusive J/ψ production in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV, in three center-of-mass rapidity (ycms) regions, down to zero pT. Results in the forward and backward rapidity ranges (2.03<ycms<3.53 and −4.46<ycms<−2.96) are obtained by studying the J/ψ decay to μ+μ−, while the mid-rapidity region (−1.37<ycms<0.43) is investigated by measuring the e+e− decay channel. The pT dependence of the J/ψ production cross section and nuclear modification factor are presented for each of the rapidity intervals, as well as the J/ψ mean pT values. Forward and mid-rapidity results show a suppression of the J/ψ yield, with respect to pp collisions, which decreases with increasing pT. At backward rapidity no significant J/ψ suppression is observed. Theoretical models including a combination of cold nuclear matter effects such as shadowing and partonic energy loss, are in fair agreement with the data, except at forward rapidity and low transverse momentum. The implications of the p-Pb results for the evaluation of cold nuclear matter effects on J/ψ production in Pb-Pb collisions are also discussed.
The measurement of primary π±, K±, p and p¯¯¯ production at mid-rapidity (|y|< 0.5) in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV performed with ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is reported. Particle identification is performed using the specific ionization energy loss and time-of-flight information, the ring-imaging Cherenkov technique and the kink-topology identification of weak decays of charged kaons. Transverse momentum spectra are measured from 0.1 up to 3 GeV/c for pions, from 0.2 up to 6 GeV/c for kaons and from 0.3 up to 6 GeV/c for protons. The measured spectra and particle ratios are compared with QCD-inspired models, tuned to reproduce also the earlier measurements performed at the LHC. Furthermore, the integrated particle yields and ratios as well as the average transverse momenta are compared with results at lower collision energies.
Measurements of the production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV at midrapidity with the ALICE detector are presented down to a transverse momentum (pT) of 0.2 GeV/c and up to pT=35 GeV/c, which is the largest momentum range probed for inclusive electron measurements in ALICE. In p−Pb collisions, the production cross section and the nuclear modification factor of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays are measured in the pT range 0.5<pT<26 GeV/c at sNN−−−√=8.16 TeV. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity within the statistical and systematic uncertainties. In both collision systems, first measurements of the yields of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in different multiplicity intervals normalised to the multiplicity-integrated yield (self-normalised yield) at midrapidity are reported as a function of the self-normalised charged-particle multiplicity estimated at midrapidity. The self-normalised yields in pp and p−Pb collisions grow faster than linear with the self-normalised multiplicity. A strong pT dependence is observed in pp collisions, where the yield of high-pT electrons increases faster as a function of multiplicity than the one of low-pT electrons. The measurement in p−Pb collisions shows no pT dependence within uncertainties. The self-normalised yields in pp and p−Pb collisions are compared with measurements of other heavy-flavour, light-flavour, and strange particles, and with Monte Carlo simulations.
The correlations between different moments of two flow amplitudes, extracted with the recently developed asymmetric cumulants, are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The magnitudes of the measured observables show a dependence on the different moments as well as on the collision centrality, indicating the presence of nonlinear response in all even moments up to the eighth. Furthermore, the higher-order asymmetric cumulants show different signatures than the symmetric and lower-order asymmetric cumulants. Comparisons with state-of-the-art event generators using two different parametrizations obtained from Bayesian optimization show differences between data and simulations in many of the studied observables, indicating a need for further tuning of the models behind those event generators. These results provide new and independent constraints on the initial conditions and transport properties of the system created in heavy-ion collisions.
The production of π±, K±, and (p¯¯¯)p is measured in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV in different topological regions. Particle transverse momentum (pT) spectra are measured in the ``toward'', ``transverse'', and ``away'' angular regions defined with respect to the direction of the leading particle in the event. While the toward and away regions contain the fragmentation products of the near-side and away-side jets, respectively, the transverse region is dominated by particles from the Underlying Event (UE). The relative transverse activity classifier, RT=NT/⟨NT⟩, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where NT is the measured charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and ⟨NT⟩ is the mean value over all the analysed events. The first measurements of identified particle pT spectra as a function of RT in the three topological regions are reported. The yield of high transverse momentum particles relative to the RT-integrated measurement decreases with increasing RT in both the toward and away regions, indicating that the softer UE dominates particle production as RT increases and validating that RT can be used to control the magnitude of the UE. Conversely, the spectral shapes in the transverse region harden significantly with increasing RT. This hardening follows a mass ordering, being more significant for heavier particles. The pT-differential particle ratios (p+p¯¯¯)/(π++π−) and (K++K−)/(π++π−) in the low UE limit (RT→0) approach expectations from Monte Carlo generators such as PYTHIA 8 with Monash 2013 tune and EPOS LHC, where the jet-fragmentation models have been tuned to reproduce e+e− results.
This article reports measurements of the angle between differently defined jet axes in pp collisions at s√=5.02 TeV carried out by the ALICE Collaboration. Charged particles at midrapidity are clustered into jets with resolution parameters R=0.2 and 0.4. The jet axis, before and after Soft Drop grooming, is compared to the jet axis from the Winner-Takes-All (WTA) recombination scheme. The angle between these axes, ΔRaxis, probes a wide phase space of the jet formation and evolution, ranging from the initial high-momentum-transfer scattering to the hadronization process. The ΔRaxis observable is presented for 20<pchjetT<100 GeV/c, and compared to predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and Herwig 7 event generators. The distributions can also be calculated analytically with a leading hadronization correction related to the non-perturbative component of the Collins−Soper−Sterman (CSS) evolution kernel. Comparisons to analytical predictions at next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy with leading hadronization correction implemented from experimental extractions of the CSS kernel in Drell−Yan measurements are presented. The analytical predictions describe the measured data within 20% in the perturbative regime, with surprising agreement in the non-perturbative regime as well. These results are compatible with the universality of the CSS kernel in the context of jet substructure.
In ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs) of relativistic nuclei without overlap of nuclear densities, the two nuclei are excited by the Lorentz-contracted Coulomb fields of their collision partners. In these UPCs, the typical nuclear excitation energy is below a few tens of MeV, and a small number of nucleons are emitted in electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of primary nuclei, in contrast to complete nuclear fragmentation in hadronic interactions. The cross sections of emission of given numbers of neutrons in UPCs of 208Pb nuclei at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV were measured with the neutron zero degree calorimeters (ZDCs) of the ALICE detector at the LHC, exploiting a similar technique to that used in previous studies performed at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV. In addition, the cross sections for the exclusive emission of one, two, three, four, and five forward neutrons in the EMD, not accompanied by the emission of forward protons, and thus mostly corresponding to the production of 207,206,205,204,203Pb, respectively, were measured for the first time. The predictions from the available models describe the measured cross sections well. These cross sections can be used for evaluating the impact of secondary nuclei on the LHC components, in particular, on superconducting magnets, and also provide useful input for the design of the Future Circular Collider (FCC-hh).
The inclusive production of the charm-strange baryon Ω0c is measured for the first time via its hadronic decay into Ω−π+ at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in proton-proton (pp) collisions at the centre-of-mass energy s√=13 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section multiplied by the branching ratio is presented in the interval 2<pT<12 GeV/c. The pT dependence of the Ω0c-baryon production relative to the prompt D0-meson and to the prompt Ξ0c-baryon production is compared to various models that take different hadronisation mechanisms into consideration. In the measured pT interval, the ratio of the pT-integrated cross sections of Ω0c and prompt Λ+c baryons multiplied by the Ω−π+ branching ratio is found to be larger by a factor of about 20 with a significance of about 4σ when compared to e+e− collisions.
Correlations in azimuthal angle extending over a long range in pseudorapidity between particles, usually called the "ridge" phenomenon, were discovered in heavy-ion collisions, and later found in pp and p−Pb collisions. In large systems, they are thought to arise from the expansion (collective flow) of the produced particles. Extending these measurements over a wider range in pseudorapidity and final-state particle multiplicity is important to understand better the origin of these long-range correlations in small-collision systems. In this Letter, measurements of the long-range correlations in p−Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV are extended to a pseudorapidity gap of Δη∼8 between particles using the ALICE, forward multiplicity detectors. After suppressing non-flow correlations, e.g., from jet and resonance decays, the ridge structure is observed to persist up to a very large gap of Δη∼8 for the first time in p−Pb collisions. This shows that the collective flow-like correlations extend over an extensive pseudorapidity range also in small-collision systems such as p−Pb collisions. The pseudorapidity dependence of the second-order anisotropic flow coefficient, v2({\eta}), is extracted from the long-range correlations. The v2(η) results are presented for a wide pseudorapidity range of −3.1<η<4.8 in various centrality classes in p−Pb collisions. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the source of anisotropic flow in small-collision systems, the v2(η) measurements are compared to hydrodynamic and transport model calculations. The comparison suggests that the final-state interactions play a dominant role in developing the anisotropic flow in small-collision systems.
The Chiral Magnetic Wave (CMW) phenomenon is essential to provide insights into the strong interaction in QCD, the properties of the quark-gluon plasma, and the topological characteristics of the early universe, offering a deeper understanding of fundamental physics in high-energy collisions. Measurements of the charge-dependent anisotropic flow coefficients are studied in Pb-Pb collisions at center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision sNN−−−√= 5.02 TeV to probe the CMW. In particular, the slope of the normalized difference in elliptic (v2) and triangular (v3) flow coefficients of positively and negatively charged particles as a function of their event-wise normalized number difference, is reported for inclusive and identified particles. The slope rNorm3 is found to be larger than zero and to have a magnitude similar to rNorm2, thus pointing to a large background contribution for these measurements. Furthermore, rNorm2 can be described by a blast wave model calculation that incorporates local charge conservation. In addition, using the event shape engineering technique yields a fraction of CMW (fCMW) contribution to this measurement which is compatible with zero. This measurement provides the very first upper limit for fCMW, and in the 10-60% centrality interval it is found to be 26% (38%) at 95% (99.7%) confidence level.
A new, more precise measurement of the Λ hyperon lifetime is performed using a large data sample of Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN p ¼ 5.02 TeV with ALICE. The Λ and Λ¯ hyperons are reconstructed at midrapidity using their two-body weak decay channel Λ → p þ π− and Λ¯ → p¯ þ πþ. The measured value of the Λ lifetime is τΛ ¼ ½261.07 0.37ðstat:Þ 0.72ðsyst:Þ ps. The relative difference between the lifetime of Λ and Λ¯ , which represents an important test of CPT invariance in the strangeness sector, is also measured. The obtained value ðτΛ − τΛ¯Þ=τΛ ¼ 0.0013 0.0028ðstat:Þ 0.0021ðsyst:Þ is consistent with zero within the uncertainties. Both measurements of the Λ hyperon lifetime and of the relative difference between τΛ and τΛ¯ are in agreement with the corresponding world averages of the Particle Data Group and about a factor of three more precise.
The production of prompt +c baryons has been measured at midrapidity in the transverse momentum interval 0 < pT < 1 GeV/c for the first time, in pp and p–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision √sNN = 5.02 TeV. The measurement was performed in the decay channel +c → pK0S by applying new decay reconstruction techniques using a Kalman-Filter vertexing algorithm and adopting a machine-learning approach for the candidate selection. The pT -integrated +c production cross sections in both collision systems were determined and used along with the measured yields in Pb–Pb collisions to compute the pT -integrated nuclear modification factors RpPb and RAA of +c baryons, which are compared to model calculations that consider nuclear modification of the parton distribution functions. The +c /D0 baryon-to-meson yield ratio is reported for pp and p–Pb collisions. Comparisons with models that include modified hadronization processes are presented, and the implications of the results on the understanding of charm hadronization in hadronic collisions are discussed. A significant (3.7σ) modification of the mean transverse momentum of + c baryons is seen in p–Pb collisions with respect to pp collisions, while the pT -integrated +c /D0 yield ratio was found to be consistent between the two collision systems within the uncertainties.
The knowledge of the material budget with a high precision is fundamental for measurements of direct photon production using the photon conversion method due to its direct impact on the total systematic uncertainty. Moreover, it influences many aspects of the charged-particle reconstruction performance. In this article, two procedures to determine data-driven corrections to the material-budget description in ALICE simulation software are developed. One is based on the precise knowledge of the gas composition in the Time Projection Chamber. The other is based on the robustness of the ratio between the produced number of photons and charged particles, to a large extent due to the approximate isospin symmetry in the number of produced neutral and charged pions. Both methods are applied to ALICE data allowing for a reduction of the overall material budget systematic uncertainty from 4.5% down to 2.5%. Using these methods, a locally correct material budget is also achieved. The two proposed methods are generic and can be applied to any experiment in a similar fashion.
Long- and short-range correlations for pairs of charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at √sNN = 13 TeV and p–Pb collisions at √s = 5.02 TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle ∆φ and pseudorapidity separation ∆η for pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 0.9 and the transverse-momentum interval 1 < pT < 4 GeV/c. Flow coefficients are extracted for the long-range correlations (1.6 < |∆η| < 1.8) in various high-multiplicity event classes using the low-multiplicity template fit method. The method is used to subtract the enhanced yield of away-side jet fragments in high-multiplicity events. These results show decreasing flow signals toward lower multiplicity events. Furthermore, the flow coefficients for events with hard probes, such as jets or leading particles, do not exhibit any significant changes compared to those obtained from high-multiplicity events without any specific event selection criteria. The results are compared with hydrodynamic-model calculations, and it is found that a better understanding of the initial conditions is necessary to describe the results, particularly for low-multiplicity events.