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The production of prompt Λ+c baryons at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) was measured in central (0-10%) and mid-central (30-50%) Pb-Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector. The Λ+c production yield, the Λ+c/D0 production ratio, and the Λ+c nuclear modification factor RAA are reported. The results are more precise and more differential in transverse momentum (pT) and centrality with respect to previous measurements. The Λ+c/D0 ratio, which is enhanced with respect to the pp measurement for 4<pT<8 GeV/c, is described by theoretical calculations that model the charm-quark transport in the quark-gluon plasma and include hadronization via both coalescence and fragmentation mechanisms.
This letter reports the first measurement of spin alignment, with respect to the helicity axis, for D∗+ vector mesons and their charge conjugates from charm-quark hadronisation (prompt) and from beauty-meson decays (non-prompt) in hadron collisions. The measurements were performed at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in proton-proton (pp) collisions collected by ALICE at the centre-of-mass energy s√=13 TeV. The diagonal spin density matrix element ρ00 of D∗+ mesons was measured from the angular distribution of the D∗+→D0(→K−π+)π+ decay products, in the D∗+ rest frame, with respect to the D∗+ momentum direction in the pp centre of mass frame. The ρ00 value for prompt D∗+ mesons is consistent with 1/3, which implies no spin alignment. However, for non-prompt D∗+ mesons an evidence of ρ00 larger than 1/3 is found. The measured value of the spin density element is ρ00=0.455±0.022(stat.)±0.035(syst.) in the 5<pT<20 GeV/c interval, which is consistent with a PYTHIA 8 Monte Carlo simulation coupled with the EVTGEN package, which implements the helicity conservation in the decay of D∗+ meson from beauty mesons. In non-central heavy-ion collisions, the spin of the D∗+ mesons may be globally aligned with the direction of the initial angular momentum and magnetic field. Based on the results for pp collisions reported in this letter it is shown that alignment of non-prompt D∗+ mesons due to the helicity conservation coupled to the collective anisotropic expansion may mimic the signal of global spin alignment in heavy-ion collisions.
Measurements of (anti)proton, (anti)deuteron, and (anti)3He production in the rapidity range −1<y<0 as a function of the transverse momentum and event multiplicity in p-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair sNN−−−√=8.16 TeV are presented. The coalescence parameters B2 and B3, measured as a function of the transverse momentum per nucleon and of the mean charged-particle multiplicity density, confirm a smooth evolution from low to high multiplicity across different collision systems and energies. The ratios between (anti)deuteron and (anti)3He yields and those of (anti)protons are also reported as a function of the mean charged-particle multiplicity density. A comparison with the predictions of the statistical hadronization and coalescence models for different collision systems and center-of-mass energies favors the coalescence description for the deuteron-to-proton yield ratio with respect to the canonical statistical model.
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 transverse momentum (pT) differential production cross section of the promptly-produced charm-strange baryon Ξ0c (and its charge conjugate Ξ0c¯¯¯¯¯¯) is measured at midrapidity via its hadronic decay into π+Ξ− in p−Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon−nucleon collision sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The Ξ0c nuclear modification factor (RpPb), calculated from the cross sections in pp and p−Pb collisions, is presented and compared with the RpPb of Λ+c baryons. The ratios between the pT-differential production cross section of Ξ0c baryons and those of D0 mesons and Λ+c baryons are also reported and compared with results at forward and backward rapidity from the LHCb Collaboration. The measurements of the production cross section of prompt Ξ0c baryons are compared with a model based on perturbative QCD calculations of charm-quark production cross sections, which includes only cold nuclear matter effects in p−Pb collisions, and underestimates the measurement by a factor of about 50. This discrepancy is reduced when the data is compared with a model in which hadronisation is implemented via quark coalescence. The pT-integrated cross section of prompt Ξ0c-baryon production at midrapidity extrapolated down to pT = 0 is also reported. These measurements offer insights and constraints for theoretical calculations of the hadronisation process. Additionally, they provide inputs for the calculation of the charm production cross section in p−Pb collisions at midrapidity.
Investigating strangeness enhancement with multiplicity in pp collisions using angular correlations
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A study of strange hadron production associated with hard scattering processes and with the underlying event is conducted to investigate the origin of the enhanced production of strange hadrons in small collision systems characterised by large charged-particle multiplicities. For this purpose, the production of the single-strange meson K0S and the double-strange baryon Ξ± is measured, in each event, in the azimuthal direction of the highest-pT particle (``trigger" particle), related to hard scattering processes, and in the direction transverse to it in azimuth, associated with the underlying event, in pp collisions at s√=5.02 TeV and s√=13 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The per-trigger yields of K0S and Ξ± are dominated by the transverse-to-leading production (i.e., in the direction transverse to the trigger particle), whose contribution relative to the toward-leading production is observed to increase with the event charged-particle multiplicity. The transverse-to-leading and the toward-leading Ξ±/K0S yield ratios increase with the multiplicity of charged particles, suggesting that strangeness enhancement with multiplicity is associated with both hard scattering processes and the underlying event. The relative production of Ξ± with respect to K0S is higher in transverse-to-leading processes over the whole multiplicity interval covered by the measurement. The K0S and Ξ± per-trigger yields and yield ratios are compared with predictions of three different phenomenological models, namely PYTHIA 8.2 with the Monash tune, PYTHIA 8.2 with ropes and EPOS LHC. The comparison shows that none of them can quantitatively describe either the transverse-to-leading or the toward-leading yields of K0S and Ξ±.
The first measurement of the impact-parameter dependent angular anisotropy in the decay of coherently photoproduced ρ0 mesons is presented. The ρ0 mesons are reconstructed through their decay into a pion pair. The measured anisotropy corresponds to the amplitude of the cos(2ϕ) modulation, where ϕ is the angle between the two vectors formed by the sum and the difference of the transverse momenta of the pions, respectively. The measurement was performed by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC using data from ultraperipheral Pb−Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair. Different impact-parameter regions are selected by classifying the events in nuclear-breakup classes. The amplitude of the cos(2ϕ) modulation is found to increase by about one order of magnitude from large to small impact parameters. Theoretical calculations, which describe the measurement, explain the cos(2ϕ) anisotropy as the result of a quantum interference effect at the femtometer scale that arises from the ambiguity as to which of the nuclei is the source of the photon in the interaction.
The production of K∗(892)± meson resonance is measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The resonance is reconstructed via its hadronic decay channel K∗(892)±→K0Sπ±. The transverse momentum distributions are obtained for various centrality intervals in the pT range of 0.4-16 GeV/c. The reported measurements of integrated yields, mean transverse momenta, and particle yield ratios are consistent with previous ALICE measurements for K∗(892)0. The pT-integrated yield ratio 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) in central Pb-Pb collisions shows a significant suppression (9.3σ) relative to pp collisions. Thermal model calculations overpredict the particle yield ratio. Although both simulations consider the hadronic phase, only HRG-PCE accurately represents the measurements, whereas MUSIC+SMASH tends to overpredict them. These observations, along with the kinetic freeze-out temperatures extracted from the yields of light-flavored hadrons using the HRG-PCE model, indicate a finite hadronic phase lifetime, which increases towards central collisions. The pT-differential yield ratios 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) and 2K∗(892)±/(π++π−) are suppressed by up to a factor of five at pT<2 GeV/c in central Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions at s√= 5.02 TeV. Both particle ratios and are qualitatively consistent with expectations for rescattering effects in the hadronic phase. The nuclear modification factor shows a smooth evolution with centrality and is below unity at pT>8 GeV/c, consistent with measurements for other light-flavored hadrons. The smallest values are observed in most central collisions, indicating larger energy loss of partons traversing the dense medium.
The production of K∗(892)± meson resonance is measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The resonance is reconstructed via its hadronic decay channel K∗(892)±→K0Sπ±. The transverse momentum distributions are obtained for various centrality intervals in the pT range of 0.4-16 GeV/c. The reported measurements of integrated yields, mean transverse momenta, and particle yield ratios are consistent with previous ALICE measurements for K∗(892)0. The pT-integrated yield ratio 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) in central Pb-Pb collisions shows a significant suppression (9.3σ) relative to pp collisions. Thermal model calculations overpredict the particle yield ratio. Although both simulations consider the hadronic phase, only HRG-PCE accurately represents the measurements, whereas MUSIC+SMASH tends to overpredict them. These observations, along with the kinetic freeze-out temperatures extracted from the yields of light-flavored hadrons using the HRG-PCE model, indicate a finite hadronic phase lifetime, which increases towards central collisions. The pT-differential yield ratios 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) and 2K∗(892)±/(π++π−) are suppressed by up to a factor of five at pT<2 GeV/c in central Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions at s√= 5.02 TeV. Both particle ratios and are qualitatively consistent with expectations for rescattering effects in the hadronic phase. The nuclear modification factor shows a smooth evolution with centrality and is below unity at pT>8 GeV/c, consistent with measurements for other light-flavored hadrons. The smallest values are observed in most central collisions, indicating larger energy loss of partons traversing the dense medium.
The production of K∗(892)± meson resonance is measured at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) in Pb−Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The resonance is reconstructed via its hadronic decay channel K∗(892)±→K0Sπ±. The transverse momentum distributions are obtained for various centrality intervals in the pT range of 0.4−16 GeV/c . Measurements of integrated yields, mean transverse momenta, and particle yield ratios are reported and found to be consistent with previous ALICE measurements for K∗(892)0 within uncertainties. The pT-integrated yield ratio 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) in central Pb−Pb collisions shows a significant suppression at a level of 9.3σ relative to pp collisions. Thermal model calculations result in an overprediction of the particle yield ratio. Although both hadron resonance gas in partial chemical equilibrium (HRG-PCE) and music + smash simulations consider the hadronic phase, only HRG-PCE accurately represents the measurements, whereas music + smash simulations tend to overpredict the particle yield ratio. These observations, along with the kinetic freeze-out temperatures extracted from the yields measured for light-flavored hadrons using the HRG-PCE model, indicate a finite hadronic phase lifetime, which decreases with increasing collision centrality percentile. The pT-differential yield ratios 2K∗(892)±/(K++K−) and 2K∗(892)±/(π++π−) are presented and compared with measurements in pp collisions at √s=5.02 TeV. Both pa rticle ratios are found to be suppressed by up to a factor of five at pT<2.0 GeV/c in central Pb−Pb collisions and are qualitatively consistent with expectations for rescattering effects in the hadronic phase. The nuclear modification factor (RAA) shows a smooth evolution with centrality and is found to be below unity at pT>8 GeV/c, consistent with measurements for other light-flavored hadrons. The smallest values are observed in most central collisions, indicating larger energy loss of partons traversing the dense medium.
The inclusive production of the charm-strange baryon Ω0c is measured for the first time via its semileptonic decay into Ω−e+νe at midrapidity (|y| < 0.8) 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 branching-fraction ratio BR(Ω0c → Ω−e+νe)/BR(Ω0c → Ω−π+) is measured to be 1.12 ± 0.22 (stat.) ± 0.27 (syst.). Comparisons with other experimental measurements, as well as with theoretical calculations, are presented.
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.
The production cross section of inclusive isolated photons has been measured by the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at centre-of-momentum energy of s√=13 TeV collected during the LHC Run 2 data-taking period. The measurement is performed by combining the measurements of the electromagnetic calorimeter EMCal and the central tracking detectors ITS and TPC, covering a pseudorapidity range of |ηγ|<0.67 and a transverse momentum range of 7<pγT<200 GeV/c. The result extends to lower pγT and xγT=2pγT/s√ ranges, the lowest xγT of any isolated photon measurements to date, extending significantly those measured by the ATLAS and CMS experiments towards lower pγT at the same collision energy with a small overlap between the measurements. The measurement is compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and the results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments as well as with measurements at other collision energies. The measurement and theory prediction are in agreement with each other within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties.
Particle production as a function of charged-particle flattenicity in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV
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This paper reports the first measurement of the transverse momentum (pT) spectra of primary charged pions, kaons, (anti)protons, and unidentified particles as a function of the charged-particle flattenicity in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV. Flattenicity is a novel event shape observable that is measured in the pseudorapidity intervals covered by the V0 detector, 2.8<η<5.1 and −3.7<η<−1.7. According to QCD-inspired phenomenological models, it shows sensitivity to multiparton interactions and is less affected by biases towards larger pT due to local multiplicity fluctuations in the V0 acceptance than multiplicity. The analysis is performed in minimum-bias (MB) as well as in high-multiplicity events up to pT=20 GeV/c. The event selection requires at least one charged particle produced in the pseudorapidity interval |η|<1. The measured pT distributions, average pT, kaon-to-pion and proton-to-pion particle ratios, presented in this paper, are compared to model calculations using PYTHIA 8 based on color strings and EPOS LHC. The modification of the pT-spectral shapes in low-flattenicity events that have large event activity with respect to those measured in MB events develops a pronounced peak at intermediate pT (2<pT<8 GeV/c), and approaches the vicinity of unity at higher pT. The results are qualitatively described by PYTHIA, and they show different behavior than those measured as a function of charged-particle multiplicity based on the V0M estimator.
Measurement of beauty production via non-prompt charm hadrons in p-Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV
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The production cross sections of D0, D+, and Λ+c hadrons originating from beauty-hadron decays (i.e. non-prompt) were measured for the first time at midrapidity in proton−lead (p−Pb) collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of √sNN=5.02 TeV. Nuclear modification factors (RpPb) of non-prompt D0, D+, and Λ+c are calculated as a function of the transverse momentum (pT) to investigate the modification of the momentum spectra measured in p−Pb collisions with respect to those measured in proton−proton (pp) collisions at the same energy. The RpPb measurements are compatible with unity and with the measurements in the prompt charm sector, and do not show a significant pT dependence. The pT-integrated cross sections and pT-integrated RpPb of non-prompt D0 and D+ mesons are also computed by extrapolating the visible cross sections down to pT = 0. The non-prompt D-meson RpPb integrated over pT is compatible with unity and with model calculations implementing modification of the parton distribution functions of nucleons bound in nuclei with respect to free nucleons. The non-prompt Λ+c/D0 and D+/D0 production ratios are computed to investigate hadronisation mechanisms of beauty quarks into mesons and baryons. The measured ratios as a function of pT display a similar trend to that measured for charm hadrons in the same collision system.
The production yields of antideuterons and antiprotons are measured in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV, as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and rapidity (y), for the first time up to |y|=0.7. The measured spectra are used to study the pT and rapidity dependence of the coalescence parameter B2, which quantifies the coalescence probability of antideuterons. The pT and rapidity dependence of the obtained B2 is extrapolated for pT>1.7 GeV/c and |y|>0.7 using the phenomenological antideuteron production model implemented in PYTHIA 8.3 as well as a baryon coalescence afterburner model based on EPOS 3. Such measurements are of interest to the astrophysics community, since they can be used for the calculation of the flux of antinuclei from cosmic rays, in combination with coalescence models.