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A measurement of the transverse momentum spectra of jets in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV is reported. Jets are reconstructed from charged particles using the anti-kT jet algorithm with jet resolution parameters R of 0.2 and 0.3 in pseudo-rapidity |η|<0.5. The transverse momentum pT of charged particles is measured down to 0.15 GeV/c which gives access to the low pT fragments of the jet. Jets found in heavy-ion collisions are corrected event-by-event for average background density and on an inclusive basis (via unfolding) for residual background fluctuations and detector effects. A strong suppression of jet production in central events with respect to peripheral events is observed. The suppression is found to be similar to the suppression of charged hadrons, which suggests that substantial energy is radiated at angles larger than the jet resolution parameter R=0.3 considered in the analysis. The fragmentation bias introduced by selecting jets with a high pT leading particle, which rejects jets with a soft fragmentation pattern, has a similar effect on the jet yield for central and peripheral events. The ratio of jet spectra with R=0.2 and R=0.3 is found to be similar in Pb-Pb and simulated PYTHIA pp events, indicating no strong broadening of the radial jet structure in the reconstructed jets with R<0.3.
The ALICE Collaboration at the LHC reports measurement of the inclusive production cross section of electrons from semi-leptonic decays of beauty hadrons with rapidity |y| < 0.8 and transverse momentum 1 < pT < 10 GeV/c, in pp collisions at √s = 2.76 TeV. Electrons not originating from semi-electronic decay of beauty hadrons are suppressed using the impact parameter of the corresponding tracks. The production cross section of beauty decay electrons is compared to the result obtained with an alternative method which uses the distribution of the azimuthal angle between heavy-flavour decay electrons and charged hadrons. Perturbative QCD predictions agree with the measured cross section within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The integrated visible cross section, σb→e = 3.47 ± 0.40(stat) +1.12 −1.33(sys) ± 0.07(norm) μb, was extrapolated to full phase space using Fixed Order plus Next-to-Leading Log (FONLL) calculations to obtain the total bb production ¯ cross section, σbb¯ = 130 ± 15.1(stat) +42.1 −49.8(sys) +3.4 −3.1(extr) ± 2.5(norm) ± 4.4(BR) μb.
We report on the production of inclusive Υ (1S) and Υ (2S) in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector at backward (−4.46 < ycms < −2.96) and forward (2.03 .< ycms < 3.53) rapidity down to zero transverse momentum. The production cross sections of the Υ (1S) and Υ (2S) are presented, as well as the nuclear modification factor and the ratio of the forward to backward yields of Υ (1S). A suppression of the inclusive Υ (1S) yield in p–Pb collisions with respect to the yield from pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon–nucleon collisions is observed at forward rapidity but not at backward rapidity. The results are compared to theoretical model calculations including nuclear shadowing or partonic energy loss effect.
Two-particle angular correlations between unidentified charged trigger and associated particles are measured by the ALICE detector in p–Pb collisions at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The transverse-momentum range 0.7 < pT,assoc < pT,trig < 5.0 GeV/c is examined, to include correlations induced by jets originating from low momentum-transfer scatterings (minijets). The correlations expressed as associated yield per trigger particle are obtained in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.9. The near-side long-range pseudorapidity correlations observed in high-multiplicity p–Pb collisions are subtracted from both near-side short-range and away-side correlations in order to remove the non-jet-like components. The yields in the jet-like peaks are found to be invariant with event multiplicity with the exception of events with low multiplicity. This invariance is consistent with the particles being produced via the incoherent fragmentation of multiple parton–parton scatterings, while the yield related to the previously observed ridge structures is not jet-related. The number of uncorrelated sources of particle production is found to increase linearly with multiplicity, suggesting no saturation of the number of multi-parton interactions even in the highest multiplicity p–Pb collisions. Further, the number scales only in the intermediate multiplicity region with the number of binary nucleon–nucleon collisions estimated with a Glauber Monte-Carlo simulation.
A measurement of dijet correlations in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector is presented. Jets are reconstructed from charged particles measured in the central tracking detectors and neutral energy deposited in the electromagnetic calorimeter. The transverse momentum of the full jet (clustered from charged and neutral constituents) and charged jet (clustered from charged particles only) is corrected event-by-event for the contribution of the underlying event, while corrections for underlying event fluctuations and finite detector resolution are applied on an inclusive basis. A projection of the dijet transverse momentum, kTy = pch+ne T,jet sin(ϕdijet) with ϕdijet the azimuthal angle between a full and charged jet and pch+ne T,jet the transverse momentum of the full jet, is used to study nuclear matter effects in p–Pb collisions. This observable is sensitive to the acoplanarity of dijet production and its potential modification in p–Pb collisions with respect to pp collisions. Measurements of the dijet kTy as a function of the transverse momentum of the full and recoil charged jet, and the event multiplicity are presented. No significant modification of kTy due to nuclear matter effects in p–Pb collisions with respect to the event multiplicity or a PYTHIA8 reference is observed.
We have performed the first measurement of the coherent ψ(2S) photo production cross section in ultraperipheral Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC. This charmonium excited state is reconstructed via the ψ(2S) → l +l − and ψ(2S) → J/ψπ+π− decays, where the J/ψ decays into two leptons. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 22 μb−1. The cross section for coherent ψ(2S) production in the rapidity interval −0.9 < y < 0.9 is dσcoh ψ(2S)/dy = 0.83±0.19 stat+syst mb. The ψ(2S) to J/ψ coherent cross section ratio is 0.34+0.08 −0.07(stat + syst). The obtained results are compared to predictions from theoretical models.
An improved value for the lifetime of the (anti-)hypertriton has been obtained using the data sample of Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV collected by the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The (anti-)hypertriton has been reconstructed via its charged two-body mesonic decay channel and the lifetime has been determined from an exponential fit to the dN/d(ct) spectrum. The measured value, τ = 242+34 −38 (stat.) ± 17 (syst.) ps, is compatible with representative theoretical predictions, thus contributing to the solution of the longstanding hypertriton lifetime puzzle.
This work presents new constraints on the existence and the binding energy of a possible – bound state, the H-dibaryon, derived from – femtoscopic measurements by the ALICE collaboration. The results are obtained from a new measurement using the femtoscopy technique in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV and p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV, combined with previously published results from pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV. The – scattering parameter space, spanned by the inverse scattering length f −1 0 and the effective range d0, is constrained by comparing the measured – correlation function with calculations obtained within the Lednický model. The data are compatible with hypernuclei results and lattice computations, both predicting a shallow attractive interaction, and permit to test different theoretical approaches describing the – interaction. The region in the (f −1 0 ,d0) plane which would accommodate a – bound state is substantially restricted compared to previous studies. The binding energy of the possible – bound state is estimated within an effective-range expansion approach and is found to be B = 3.2+1.6 −2.4(stat)+1.8 −1.0(syst) MeV.
In this letter, the production of deuterons and anti-deuterons in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV is studied as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-rapidity with the ALICE detector at the LHC. Production yields are measured at mid-rapidity in five multiplicity classes and as a function of the deuteron transverse momentum (pT). The measurements are discussed in the context of hadron–coalescence models. The coalescence parameter B2, extracted from the measured spectra of (anti-)deuterons and primary (anti-)protons, exhibits no significant pT-dependence for pT < 3 GeV/c, in agreement with the expectations of a simple coalescence picture. At fixed transverse momentum per nucleon, the B2 parameter is found to decrease smoothly from low multiplicity pp to Pb–Pb collisions, in qualitative agreement with more elaborate coalescence models. The measured mean transverse momentum of (anti-)deuterons in pp is not reproduced by the Blast-Wave model calculations that simultaneously describe pion, kaon and proton spectra, in contrast to central Pb–Pb collisions. The ratio between the pT-integrated yield of deuterons to protons, d/p, is found to increase with the chargedparticle multiplicity, as observed in inelastic pp collisions at different centre-of-mass energies. The d/p ratios are reported in a wide range, from the lowest to the highest multiplicity values measured in pp collisions at the LHC.
The ALICE collaboration performed the first rapidity-differential measurement of coherent J/ψ photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy √sNN = 5.02 TeV. The J/ψ is detected via its dimuon decay in the forward rapidity region (−4.0 < y < −2.5) for events where the hadronic activity is required to be minimal. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 750 μb−1. The cross section for coherent J/ψ production is presented in six rapidity bins. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent J/ψ photoproduction. These comparisons indicate that gluon shadowing effects play a role in the photoproduction process. The ratio of ψ to J/ψ coherent photoproduction cross sections was measured and found to be consistent with that measured for photoproduction off protons.
The measurement of the deuteron and anti-deuteron production in the rapidity range −1 < y < 0 as a function of transverse momentum and event multiplicity in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV is presented. (Anti-)deuterons are identified via their specific energy loss dE/dx and via their time-offlight. Their production in p–Pb collisions is compared to pp and Pb–Pb collisions and is discussed within the context of thermal and coalescence models. The ratio of integrated yields of deuterons to protons (d/p) shows a significant increase as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity of the event starting from values similar to those observed in pp collisions at low multiplicities and approaching those observed in Pb–Pb collisions at high multiplicities. The mean transverse particle momenta are extracted from the deuteron spectra and the values are similar to those obtained for p and particles. Thus, deuteron spectra do not follow mass ordering. This behaviour is in contrast to the trend observed for non-composite particles in p–Pb collisions. In addition, the production of the rare 3He and 3He nuclei has been studied. The spectrum corresponding to all non-single diffractive p-Pb collisions is obtained in the rapidity window −1 < y < 0 and the pT-integrated yield dN/dy is extracted. It is found that the yields of protons, deuterons, and 3He, normalised by the spin degeneracy factor, follow an exponential decrease with mass number.
The ALICE collaboration at the CERN LHC reports novel measurements of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV and central Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV. Jet substructure of track-based jets is explored via iterative declustering and grooming techniques. We present the measurement of the momentum sharing of two-prong substructure exposed via grooming, the zg, and its dependence on the opening angle, in both pp and Pb–Pb collisions. We also present the measurement of the distribution of the number of branches obtained in the iterative declustering of the jet, which is interpreted as the number of its hard splittings. In Pb–Pb collisions, we observe a suppression of symmetric splittings at large opening angles and an enhancement of splittings at small opening angles relative to pp collisions, with no significant modification of the number of splittings. The results are compared to predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators to test the role of important concepts in the evolution of the jet in the medium such as colour coherence.
Two-particle correlation functions were measured for pp, p, p, and pairs in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV and √sNN = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ALICE detector. From a simultaneous fit to all obtained correlation functions, real and imaginary components of the scattering lengths, as well as the effective ranges, were extracted for combined p and p pairs and, for the first time, for pairs. Effective averaged scattering parameters for heavier baryon–antibaryon pairs, not measured directly, are also provided. The results reveal similarly strong interaction between measured baryon–antibaryon pairs, suggesting that they all annihilate in the same manner at the same pair relative momentum k∗. Moreover, the reported significant non-zero imaginary part and negative real part of the scattering length provide motivation for future baryon–antibaryon bound state searches.
We present the first measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the K0 S and K± particles in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding solely via the a0(980) resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for K0 SK− are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for K0 SK+. Results of the present study are compared with those from identical-kaon femtoscopic studies also performed with pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV by ALICE andwith a K0 SK± measurement in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV. Combined with the Pb–Pb results, our pp analysis is found to be compatible with th e interpretation of the a0(980) having a tetraquark structure instead of that of a diquark.
Azimuthally-differential femtoscopic measurements, being sensitive to spatio-temporal characteristics of the source as well as to the collective velocity fields at freeze out, provide very important information on the nature and dynamics of the system evolution. While the HBT radii oscillations relative to the second harmonic event plane measured recently reflect mostly the spatial geometry of the source, model studies have shown that the HBT radii oscillations relative to the third harmonic event plane are predominantly defined by the velocity fields. In this Letter, we present the first results on azimuthally-differential pion femtoscopy relative to the third harmonic event plane as a function of the pion pair transverse momentum kT for different collision centralities in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV. We find that the Rside and Rout radii, which characterize the pion source size in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the pion transverse momentum, oscillate in phase relative to the third harmonic event plane, similar to the results from 3+1D hydrodynamical calculations. The observed radii oscillations unambiguously signal a collective expansion and anisotropy in the velocity fields. A comparison of the measured radii scillations with the Blast-Wave model calculations indicate that the initial state triangularity is washedout at freeze out.
The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V2 and V3, are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, ε2 and ε3, in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, Vn (n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow Vn for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.8 and the transverse momentum range 0.2 < pT < 5.0 GeV/c as a function of collision centrality. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and provide important constraints on the initial conditions, including initial spatial geometry and its fluctuations, as well as the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density of the produced system.
The first measurements of anisotropic flow coefficients vn for mid-rapidity charged particles in Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV are presented. Comparing these measurements to those from Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV, v2 is found to be suppressed for mid-central collisions at the same centrality, and enhanced for central collisions. The values of v3 are generally larger in Xe–Xe than in Pb–Pb at a given centrality. These observations are consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic predictions. When both v2 and v3 are divided by their corresponding eccentricities for a variety of initial state models, they generally scale with transverse density when comparing Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb, with some deviations observed in central Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb collisions. These results assist in placing strong constraints on both the initial state geometry and medium response for relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
We report measurements of the inclusive J/ψ yield and average transverse momentum as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density dNch/dη in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The observables are normalised to their corresponding averages in non-single diffractive events. An increase of the normalised J/ψ yield with normalised dNch/dη, measured at mid-rapidity, is observed at mid-rapidity and backward rapidity. At forward rapidity, a saturation of the relative yield is observed for high charged-particle multiplicities. The normalised average transverse momentum at forward and backward rapidities increases with multiplicity at low multiplicities and saturates beyond moderate multiplicities. In addition, the forward-to-backward nuclear modification factor ratio is also reported, showing an increasing suppression of J/ψ production at forward rapidity with respect to backward rapidity for increasing charged-particle multiplicity.
We present the first ever measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the K0 S and K± particles. The analysis was performed on the data from Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding via the a0(980) resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for K0 SK− are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for K0 SK+. Comparing the results of the present study with those from published identical-kaon femtoscopic studies by ALICE, mass and coupling parameters for the a0 resonance are tested. Our results are also compatible with the interpretation of the a0 having a tetraquark structure instead of that of a diquark
First results on the longitudinal asymmetry and its effect on the pseudorapidity distributions in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider are obtained with the ALICE detector. The longitudinal asymmetry arises because of an unequal number of participating nucleons from the two colliding nuclei, and is estimated for each event by measuring the energy in the forward neutron-ZeroDegree-Calorimeters (ZNs). The effect of the longitudinal asymmetry is measured on the pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles in the regions |η| < 0.9, 2.8 < η < 5.1 and −3.7 < η < −1.7 by taking the ratio of the pseudorapidity distributions from events corresponding to different regions of asymmetry. The coefficients of a polynomial fit to the ratio characterise the effect of the asymmetry. A Monte Carlo simulation using a Glauber model for the colliding nuclei is tuned to reproduce the spectrum in the ZNs and provides a relation between the measurable longitudinal asymmetry and the shift in the rapidity (y0) of the participant zone formed by the unequal number of participating nucleons. The dependence of the coefficient of the linear term in the polynomial expansion, c1, on the mean value of y0 is investigated.
This letter presents the first measurement of jet mass in Pb–Pb and p–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV and sNN=5.02 TeV, respectively. Both the jet energy and the jet mass are expected to be sensitive to jet quenching in the hot Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) matter created in nuclear collisions at collider energies. Jets are reconstructed from charged particles using the anti-kT jet algorithm and resolution parameter R=0.4. The jets are measured in the pseudorapidity range |ηjet|<0.5 and in three intervals of transverse momentum between 60 GeV/c and 120 GeV/c. The measurement of the jet mass in central Pb–Pb collisions is compared to the jet mass as measured in p–Pb reference collisions, to vacuum event generators, and to models including jet quenching. It is observed that the jet mass in central Pb–Pb collisions is consistent within uncertainties with p–Pb reference measurements. Furthermore, the measured jet mass in Pb–Pb collisions is not reproduced by the quenching models considered in this letter and is found to be consistent with PYTHIA expectations within systematic uncertainties.
The production of the charm-strange baryon Ξc0 is measured for the first time at the LHC via its semileptonic decay into eΞ−+νe in pp collisions at s=7 TeV with the ALICE detector. The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section multiplied by the branching ratio is presented in the interval 1<pT<8 GeV/c at mid-rapidity, |y|<0.5. The transverse momentum dependence of the Ξc0 baryon production relative to the D0 meson production is compared to predictions of event generators with various tunes of the hadronisation mechanism, which are found to underestimate the measured cross-section ratio.
We present a measurement of azimuthal correlations between inclusive J/ψ and charged hadrons in p–Pb collisions recorded with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The J/ψ are reconstructed at forward (p-going, 2.03<y<3.53) and backward (Pb-going, −4.46<y<−2.96) rapidity via their μ+μ− decay channel, while the charged hadrons are reconstructed at mid-rapidity (|η|<1.8). The correlations are expressed in terms of associated charged-hadron yields per J/ψ trigger. A rapidity gap of at least 1.5 units is required between the trigger J/ψ and the associated charged hadrons. Possible correlations due to collective effects are assessed by subtracting the associated per-trigger yields in the low-multiplicity collisions from those in the high-multiplicity collisions. After the subtraction, we observe a strong indication of remaining symmetric structures at Δφ≈0 and Δφ≈π, similar to those previously found in two-particle correlations at middle and forward rapidity. The corresponding second-order Fourier coefficient (v2) in the transverse momentum interval between 3 and 6 GeV/c is found to be positive with a significance of about 5σ. The obtained results are similar to the J/ψ v2 coefficients measured in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV, suggesting a common mechanism at the origin of the J/ψ v2.
We present the charged-particle pseudorapidity density in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV in centrality classes measured by ALICE. The measurement covers a wide pseudorapidity range from −3.5 to 5, which is sufficient for reliable estimates of the total number of charged particles produced in the collisions. For the most central (0–5%) collisions we find 21 400 ± 1 300, while for the most peripheral (80–90%) we find 230 ± 38. This corresponds to an increase of (27 ± 4)% over the results at √sNN = 2.76 TeV previously reported by ALICE. The energy dependence of the total number of charged particles produced in heavy-ion collisions is found to obey a modified power-law like behaviour. The chargedparticle pseudorapidity density of the most central collisions is compared to model calculations — none of which fully describes the measured distribution. We also present an estimate of the rapidity density of charged particles. The width of that distribution is found to exhibit a remarkable proportionality to the beam rapidity, independent of the collision energy from the top SPS to LHC energies.
Electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays (charm and beauty) were measured with the ALICE detector in Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass of energy √sNN = 2.76 TeV. The transverse momentum (pT) differential production yields at mid-rapidity were used to calculate the nuclear modification factor RAA in the interval 3 < pT < 18 GeV/c. The RAA shows a strong suppression compared to binary scaling of pp collisions at the same energy (up to a factor of 4) in the 10% most central Pb–Pb collisions. There is a centrality trend of suppression, and a weaker suppression (down to a factor of 2) in semi-peripheral (50–80%) collisions is observed. The suppression of electrons in this broad pT interval indicates that both charm and beauty quarks lose energy when they traverse the hot medium formed in Pb–Pb collisions at LHC.
The production of Z0 bosons at large rapidities in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV is reported. Z0 candidates are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel (Z0 → μ+ μ−), based on muons selected with pseudo-rapidity −4.0 < η < −2.5 and pT > 20 GeV/c. The invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor, RAA, are presented as a function of rapidity and collision centrality. The value of RAA for the 0–20% central Pb–Pb collisions is 0.67 ± 0.11 (stat.) ± 0.03 (syst.) ± 0.06 (corr. syst.), exhibiting a deviation of 2.6σ from unity. The results are well-described by calculations that include nuclear modifications of the parton distribution functions, while the predictions using vacuum PDFs deviate from data by 2.3σ in the 0–90% centrality class and by 3σ in the 0–20% central collisions.
Inclusive J/ψ production is studied in Xe–Xe interactions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of √sNN = 5.44 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The J/ψ meson is reconstructed via its decay into a muon pair, in the centre-of-mass rapidity interval 2.5 < y < 4 and down to zero transverse momentum. In this Letter, the nuclear modification factors RAA for inclusive J/ψ, measured in the centrality range 0–90% as well as in the centrality intervals 0–20% and 20–90% are presented. The RAA values are compared to previously published results for Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV and to the calculation of a transport model. A good agreement is found between Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb results as well as between data and the model.
The elliptic flow of inclusive and direct photons was measured at mid-rapidity in two centrality classes 0–20% and 20–40% in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV by ALICE. Photons were detected with the highly segmented electromagnetic calorimeter PHOS and via conversions in the detector material with the e+e− pairs reconstructed in the central tracking system. The results of the two methods were combined and the direct-photon elliptic flow was extracted in the transverse momentum range 0.9 < pT < 6.2 GeV/c. A comparison to RHIC data shows a similar magnitude of the measured directphoton elliptic flow. Hydrodynamic and transport model calculations are systematically lower than the data, but are found to be compatible.
The differential invariant yield as a function of transverse momentum (pT) of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured at midrapidity in central (0–10%), semi-central (30–50%) and peripheral (60–80%) lead–lead (Pb–Pb) collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV in the pT intervals 0.5–26 GeV/c (0–10% and 30–50%) and 0.5–10 GeV/c (60–80%). The production cross section in proton–proton (pp) collisions at √s = 5.02 TeV was measured as well in 0.5 < pT < 10 GeV/c and it lies close to the upper band of perturbative QCD calculation uncertainties up to pT = 5 GeV/c and close to the mean value for larger pT. The modification of the electron yield with respect to what is expected for an incoherent superposition of nucleon–nucleon collisions is evaluated by measuring the nuclear modification factor RAA. The measurement of the RAA in different centrality classes allows in-medium energy loss of charm and beauty quarks to be investigated. The RAA shows a suppression with respect to unity at intermediate pT, which increases while moving towards more central collisions. Moreover, the measured RAA is sensitive to the modification of the parton distribution functions (PDF) in nuclei, like nuclear shadowing, which causes a suppression of the heavy-quark production at low pT in heavy-ion collisions at LHC.
A measurement of the production of prompt +c baryons in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC is reported. The +c and − c were reconstructed at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) via the hadronic decay channel +c → pK0 S (and charge conjugate) in the transverse momentum and centrality intervals 6 < pT < 12 GeV/c and 0–80%. The +c /D0 ratio, which is sensitive to the charm quark hadronisation mechanisms in the medium, is measured and found to be larger than the ratio measured in minimum-bias pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV and in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV. In particular, the values in p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions differ by about two standard deviations of the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the common pT interval covered by the measurements in the two collision systems. The + c /D0 ratio is also compared with model calculations including different implementations of charm quark hadronisation. The measured ratio is reproduced by models implementing a pure coalescence scenario, while adding a fragmentation contribution leads to an underestimation. The + c nuclear modification factor, RAA, is also presented. The measured values of the RAA of + c , D+ s and non-strange D mesons are compatible within the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties. They show, however, a hint of a hierarchy (RD0 AA < RD+ s AA < R+ c AA ), conceivable with a contribution from coalescence mechanisms to charm hadron formation in the medium.
In this Letter, the ALICE Collaboration presents the first measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity density, dNch/dη, and total charged-particle multiplicity, Ntot ch , in Xe–Xe collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair of √sNN = 5.44 TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of collision centrality over a wide pseudorapidity range of −3.5 < η < 5. The values of dNch/dη at mid-rapidity and Ntot ch for central collisions, normalised to the number of nucleons participating in the collision (Npart) as a function of √sNN follow the trends established in previous heavy-ion measurements. The same quantities are also found to increase as a function of Npart, and up to the 5% most central collisions the trends are the same as the ones observed in Pb–Pb at a similar energy. For more central collisions, the Xe–Xe scaled multiplicities exceed those in Pb–Pb for a similar Npart. The results are compared to phenomenological models and theoretical calculations based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions. All considered models describe the data reasonably well within 15%.
The measurement of dielectron production is presented as a function of invariant mass and transverse momentum (pT) at midrapidity (|ye| < 0.8) in proton–proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV. The contributions from light-hadron decays are calculated from their measured cross sections in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV or 13 TeV. The remaining continuum stems from correlated semileptonic decays of heavy-flavour hadrons. Fitting the data with templates from two different MC event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, the charm and beauty cross sections at midrapidity are extracted for the first time at this collision energy: dσcc¯/dy|y=0 = 974 ± 138 (stat.) ± 140 (syst.) ± 214(BR) μb and dσbb¯ /dy|y=0 = 79 ± 14 (stat.) ± 11 (syst.) ± 5(BR) μb using PYTHIA simulations and dσcc¯/dy|y=0 = 1417 ± 184 (stat.) ± 204 (syst.) ± 312(BR) μb and dσbb¯ /dy|y=0 = 48 ± 14 (stat.) ± 7 (syst.) ± 3(BR) μb for POWHEG. These values, whose uncertainties are fully correlated between the two generators, are consistent with extrapolations from lower energies. The different results obtained with POWHEG and PYTHIA imply different kinematic correlations of the heavy-quark pairs in these two generators. Furthermore, comparisons of dielectron spectra in inelastic events and in events collected with a trigger on high charged-particle multiplicities are presented in various pT intervals. The differences are consistent with the already measured scaling of light-hadron and open-charm production at high charged-particle multiplicity as a function of pT. Upper limits for the contribution of virtual direct photons are extracted at 90% confidence level and found to be in agreement with pQCD calculations.
Transverse momentum spectra of π±, K± and p(p¯) up to pT = 20 GeV/c at mid-rapidity in pp, peripheral (60–80%) and central (0–5%) Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV have been measured using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The proton-to-pion and the kaon-to-pion ratios both show a distinct peak at pT ≈ 3 GeV/c in central Pb–Pb collisions. Below the peak, pT < 3 GeV/c, both ratios are in good agreement with hydrodynamical calculations, suggesting that the peak itself is dominantly the result of radial flow rather than anomalous hadronization processes. For pT > 10 GeV/c particle ratios in pp and Pb–Pb collisions are in agreement and the nuclear modification factors for π±, K± and p(p¯) indicate that, within the systematic and statistical uncertainties, the suppression is the same. This suggests that the chemical composition of leading particles from jets in the medium is similar to that of vacuum jets.
We report on the measurement of the inclusive Υ (1S) production in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV carried out at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) and down to zero transverse momentum using its μ+μ−decay channel with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. A strong suppression of the inclusive Υ (1S) yield is observed with respect to pp collisions scaled by the number of independent nucleon–nucleon collisions. The nuclear modification factor, for events in the 0–90% centrality range, amounts to 0.30 ± 0.05(stat) ± 0.04(syst). The observed Υ (1S) suppression tends to increase with the centrality of the collision and seems more pronounced than in corresponding mid-rapidity measurements. Our results are compared with model calculations, which are found to underestimate the measured suppression and fail to reproduce its rapidity dependence.
The transverse momentum (pT) spectrum and nuclear modification factor (RAA) of reconstructed jets in 0–10% and 10–30% central Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV were measured. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kT jet algorithm with a resolution parameter of R = 0.2 from charged and neutral particles, utilizing the ALICE tracking detectors and Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). The jet pT spectra are reported in the pseudorapidity interval of |ηjet| < 0.5 for 40 < pT, jet < 120 GeV/c in 0–10% and for 30 < pT, jet < 100 GeV/c in 10–30% collisions. Reconstructed jets were required to contain a leading charged particle with pT > 5 GeV/c to suppress jets constructed from the combinatorial background in Pb–Pb collisions. The leading charged particle requirement applied to jet spectra both in pp and Pb–Pb collisions had a negligible effect on the RAA. The nuclear modification factor RAA was found to be 0.28 ± 0.04 in 0–10% and 0.35 ± 0.04 in 10–30% collisions, independent of pT, jet within the uncertainties of the measurement. The observed suppression is in fair agreement with expectations from two model calculations with different approaches to jet quenching.
In high-energy collisions, the spatio-temporal size of the particle production region can be measured using the Bose–Einstein correlations of identical bosons at low relative momentum. The source radii are typically extracted using two-pion correlations, and characterize the system at the last stage of interaction, called kinetic freeze-out. In low-multiplicity collisions, unlike in high-multiplicity collisions, two-pion correlations are substantially altered by background correlations, e.g. mini-jets. Such correlations can be suppressed using three-pion cumulant correlations. We present the first measurements of the size of the system at freeze-out extracted from three-pion cumulant correlations in pp, p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC with ALICE. At similar multiplicity, the invariant radii extracted in p–Pb collisions are found to be 5–15% larger than those in pp, while those in Pb–Pb are 35–55% larger than those in p–Pb. Our measurements disfavor models which incorporate substantially stronger collective expansion in p–Pb as compared to pp collisions at similar multiplicity.
The production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in minimum-bias p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The measurement covers the pT interval 0.5 < pT < 12 GeV/c and the rapidity range −1.065 < ycms < 0.135 in the centre-of-mass reference frame. The contribution of electrons from background sources was subtracted using an invariant mass approach. The nuclear modification factor RpPb was calculated by comparing the pT-differential invariant cross section in p–Pb collisions to a pp reference at the same centre-of-mass energy, which was obtained by interpolating measurements at √s = 2.76 TeV and √s = 7 TeV. The RpPb is consistent with unity within uncertainties of about 25%, which become larger for pT below 1 GeV/c. The measurement shows that heavy-flavour production is consistent with binary scaling, so that a suppression in the high-pT yield in Pb–Pb collisions has to be attributed to effects induced by the hot medium produced in the final state. The data in p–Pb collisions are described by recent model calculations that include cold nuclear matter effects.
The jet radial structure and particle transverse momentum (pT) composition within jets are presented in centrality-selected Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV. Track-based jets, which are also called charged jets, were reconstructed with a resolution parameter of R = 0.3 at midrapidity |ηch jet| < 0.6 for transverse momenta pT, ch jet = 30–120 GeV/c. Jet–hadron correlations in relative azimuth and pseudorapidity space (Δϕ, Δη) are measured to study the distribution of the associated particles around the jet axis for different pT,assoc-ranges between 1 and 20 GeV/c. The data in Pb–Pb collisions are compared to reference distributions for pp collisions, obtained using embedded PYTHIA simulations. The number of high-pT associate particles (4 < pT,assoc < 20 GeV/c) in Pb–Pb collisions is found to be suppressed compared to the reference by 30 to 10% depending on centrality. The radial particle distribution relative to the jet axis shows a moderate modification in Pb–Pb collisions with respect to PYTHIA. High-pT associate particles are slightly more collimated in Pb–Pb collisions compared to the reference, while low-pT associate particles tend to be broadened. The results, which are presented for the first time down to pT, ch jet = 30 GeV/c in Pb–Pb collisions, are compatible with both previous jet–hadron-related measurements from the CMS Collaboration and jet shape measurements from the ALICE Collaboration at higher pT, and add further support for the established picture of in-medium parton energy loss.
Inclusive ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) production have been measured in Pb–Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair √sNN = 5.02 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The ϒ mesons are reconstructed in the centre-of-mass rapidity interval 2.5 < y < 4 and in the transversemomentum range pT < 15 GeV/c, via their decays to muon pairs. In this Letter, we present results on the inclusive ϒ(1S) nuclear modification factor RAA as a function of collision centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity. The ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) RAA, integrated over the centrality range 0–90%, are 0.37± 0.02(stat) ± 0.03(syst) and 0.10 ± 0.04(stat) ± 0.02(syst), respectively, leading to a ratio Rϒ(2S) AA /Rϒ(1S) AA of 0.28±0.12(stat)±0.06(syst). The observed ϒ(1S) suppression increases with the centrality of the collision and no significant variation is observed as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity.
Charged-particle spectra at midrapidity are measured in Pb–Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair √sNN = 5.02 TeV and presented in centrality classes ranging from most central (0–5%) to most peripheral (95–100%) collisions. Possible medium effects are quantified using the nuclear modification factor (RAA) by comparing the measured spectra with those from proton–proton collisions, scaled by the number of independent nucleon–nucleon collisions obtained from a Glauber model. At large transverse momenta (8 < pT < 20 GeV/c), the average RAA is found to increase from about 0.15 in 0–5% central to a maximum value of about 0.8 in 75–85% peripheral collisions, beyond which it falls off strongly to below 0.2 for the most peripheral collisions. Furthermore, RAA initially exhibits a positive slope as a function of pT in the 8–20 GeV/c interval, while for collisions beyond the 80% class the slope is negative. To reduce uncertainties related to event selection and normalization, we also provide the ratio of RAA in adjacent centrality intervals. Our results in peripheral collisions are consistent with a PYTHIA-based model without nuclear modification, demonstrating that biases caused by the event selection and collision geometry can lead to the apparent suppression in peripheral collisions. This explains the unintuitive observation that RAA is below unity in peripheral Pb–Pb, but equal to unity in minimum-bias p–Pb collisions despite similar charged-particle multiplicities.
Two-particle angular correlations were measured in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV for pions, kaons, protons, and lambdas, for all particle/anti-particle combinations in the pair. Data for mesons exhibit an expected peak dominated by effects associated with mini-jets and are well reproduced by general purpose Monte Carlo generators. However, for baryon–baryon and anti-baryon–anti-baryon pairs, where both particles have the same baryon number, a near-side anti-correlation structure is observed instead of a peak. This effect is interpreted in the context of baryon production mechanisms in the fragmentation process. It currently presents a challenge to Monte Carlo models and its origin remains an open question.
We have identified a mistake in how Fig. 1 is referenced in the text of the article Eur. Phys. J. C 77 (2017) no. 8, 569 which affected three paragraphs of the results section. The corrected three paragraphs as well as the unmodified accompanying figure are reproduced in this document with the correct labeling.
In addition, an editing issue led to a missing acknowledgements section. The missing section is reproduced at the end of this document in the manner in which it should have appeared in the published article.
Measurement of deuteron spectra and elliptic flow in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV at the LHC
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The transverse momentum (pT) spectra and elliptic flow coefficient (v2) of deuterons and anti-deuterons at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) are measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV. The measurement of the pT spectra of (anti-)deuterons is done up to 8 GeV/c in 0–10% centrality class and up to 6 GeV/c in 10–20% and 20–40% centrality classes. The v2 is measured in the 0.8 < pT < 5 GeV/c interval and in six different centrality intervals (0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40 and 40–50%) using the scalar product technique. Measured π ±, K± and p+p¯¯¯ transverse-momentum spectra and v2 are used to predict the deuteron pT spectra and v2 within the Blast-Wave model. The predictions are able to reproduce the v2 coefficient in the measured pT range and the transverse-momentum spectra for pT > 1.8 GeV/c within the experimental uncertainties. The measurement of the coalescence parameter B2 is performed, showing a pT dependence in contrast with the simplest coalescence model, which fails to reproduce also the measured v2 coefficient. In addition, the coalescence parameter B2 and the elliptic flow coefficient in the 20–40% centrality interval are compared with the AMPT model which is able, in its version without string melting, to reproduce the measured v2(pT) and the B2(pT) trend.
The invariant differential cross sections for inclusive π0 and η mesons at midrapidity were measured in pp collisions at s√=2.76 TeV for transverse momenta 0.4<pT<40 GeV/c and 0.6<pT<20 GeV/c, respectively, using the ALICE detector. This large range in pT was achieved by combining various analysis techniques and different triggers involving the electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal). In particular, a new single-cluster, shower-shape based method was developed for the identification of high-pT neutral pions, which exploits that the showers originating from their decay photons overlap in the EMCal. Above 4 GeV/c, the measured cross sections are found to exhibit a similar power-law behavior with an exponent of about 6.3. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations differ from the measured cross sections by about 30% for the π0, and between 30–50% for the η meson, while generator-level simulations with PYTHIA 8.2 describe the data to better than 10–30%, except at pT<1 GeV/c. The new data can therefore be used to further improve the theoretical description of π0 and η meson production.
A measurement of beauty hadron production at mid-rapidity in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV is presented. The semi-inclusive decay channel of beauty hadrons into J/ψ is considered, where the J/ψ mesons are reconstructed in the dielectron decay channel at mid-rapidity down to transverse momenta of 1.3 GeV/c. The bb¯ production cross section at mid-rapidity, dσbb¯/dy, and the total cross section extrapolated over full phase space, σbb¯, are obtained. This measurement is combined with results on inclusive J/ψ production to determine the prompt J/ψ cross sections. The results in p–Pb collisions are then scaled to expectations from pp collisions at the same centre-of-mass energy to derive the nuclear modification factor RpPb, and compared to models to study possible nuclear modifications of the production induced by cold nuclear matter effects. RpPb is found to be smaller than unity at low pT for both J/ψ coming from beauty hadron decays and prompt J/ψ.
The azimuthal correlations of D mesons with charged particles were measured with the ALICE apparatus in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. D0, D+, and D∗+ mesons and their charge conjugates with transverse momentum 3<pT<16 GeV/c and rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system |ycms|<0.5 (pp collisions) and −0.96<ycms<0.04 (p–Pb collisions) were correlated to charged particles with pT>0.3 GeV/c. The yield of charged particles in the correlation peak induced by the jet containing the D meson and the peak width are compatible within uncertainties in the two collision systems. The data are described within uncertainties by Monte-Carlo simulations based on PYTHIA, POWHEG, and EPOS 3 event generators.
The transverse momentum distributions of the strange and double-strange hyperon resonances (Σ(1385)±, Ξ(1530)0) produced in p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV were measured in the rapidity range −0.5<yCMS<0 for event classes corresponding to different charged-particle multiplicity densities, ⟨dNch/dηlab⟩. The mean transverse momentum values are presented as a function of ⟨dNch/dηlab⟩, as well as a function of the particle masses and compared with previous results on hyperon production. The integrated yield ratios of excited to ground-state hyperons are constant as a function of ⟨dNch/dηlab⟩. The equivalent ratios to pions exhibit an increase with ⟨dNch/dηlab⟩, depending on their strangeness content.
First results on K/π, p/π and K/p fluctuations are obtained with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC as a function of centrality in Pb--Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV. The observable νdyn, which is defined in terms of the moments of particle multiplicity distributions, is used to quantify the magnitude of dynamical fluctuations of relative particle yields and also provides insight into the correlation between particle pairs. This study is based on a novel experimental technique, called the Identity Method, which allows one to measure the moments of multiplicity distributions in case of incomplete particle identification. The results for p/π show a change of sign in νdyn from positive to negative towards more peripheral collisions. For central collisions, the results follow the smooth trend of the data at lower energies and νdyn exhibits a change in sign for p/π and K/p.
We report on the measurement of the inclusive J/ψ polarization parameters in pp collisions at a center of mass energy s√=8 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.23 pb−1. J/ψ resonances are reconstructed in their di-muon decay channel in the rapidity interval 2.5<y<4.0 and over the transverse-momentum interval 2<pT<15 GeV/c. The three polarization parameters (λθ, λφ, λθφ) are measured as a function of pT both in the helicity and Collins-Soper reference frames. The measured J/ψ polarization parameters are found to be compatible with zero within uncertainties, contrary to expectations from all available predictions. The results are compared with the measurement in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV.
The pseudorapidity density of charged particles, dNch/dη, in p–Pb collisions has been measured at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair of sNN−−−√ = 8.16 TeV at mid-pseudorapidity for non-single-diffractive events. The results cover 3.6 units of pseudorapidity, |η|<1.8. The dNch/dη value is 19.1±0.7 at |η|<0.5. This quantity divided by ⟨Npart⟩ / 2 is 4.73±0.20, where ⟨Npart⟩is the average number of participating nucleons, is 9.5% higher than the corresponding value for p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV. Measurements are compared with models based on different mechanisms for particle production. All models agree within uncertainties with data in the Pb-going side, while HIJING overestimates, showing a symmetric behaviour, and EPOS underestimates the p-going side of the dNch/dη distribution. Saturation-based models reproduce the distributions well for η>−1.3. The dNch/dη is also measured for different centrality estimators, based both on the charged-particle multiplicity and on the energy deposited in the Zero-Degree Calorimeters. A study of the implications of the large multiplicity fluctuations due to the small number of participants for systems like p–Pb in the centrality calculation for multiplicity-based estimators is discussed, demonstrating the advantages of determining the centrality with energy deposited near beam rapidity.
The production rates and the transverse momentum distribution of strange hadrons at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) are measured in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV as a function of the charged particle multiplicity, using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The production rates of K0S, Λ, Ξ, and Ω increase with the multiplicity faster than what is reported for inclusive charged particles. The increase is found to be more pronounced for hadrons with a larger strangeness content. Possible auto-correlations between the charged particles and the strange hadrons are evaluated by measuring the event-activity with charged particle multiplicity estimators covering different pseudorapidity regions. When comparing to lower energy results, the yields of strange hadrons are found to depend only on the mid-rapidity charged particle multiplicity. Several features of the data are reproduced qualitatively by general purpose QCD Monte Carlo models that take into account the effect of densely-packed QCD strings in high multiplicity collisions. However, none of the tested models reproduce the data quantitatively. This work corroborates and extends the ALICE findings on strangeness production in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV.
Neutral pion and η meson invariant differential yields were measured in non-single diffractive p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The analysis combines results from three complementary photon measurements, utilizing the PHOS and EMCal calorimeters and the Photon Conversion Method. The invariant differential yields of π0 and η meson inclusive production are measured near mid-rapidity in a broad transverse momentum range of 0.3<pT<20 GeV/c and 0.7<pT<20 GeV/c, respectively. The measured η/π0 ratio increases with pT and saturates for pT > 4 GeV/c at 0.483±0.015stat±0.015sys. A deviation from mT scaling is observed for pT< 2 GeV/c. The measured η/π0 ratio is consistent with previous measurements from proton-nucleus and pp collisions over the full pT range. The measured η/π0 ratio at high pT also agrees within uncertainties with measurements from nucleus–nucleus collisions. The π0 and η yields in p–Pb relative to the scaled pp interpolated reference, RpPb, are presented for 0.3<pT< 20 GeV/c and 0.7<pT< 20 GeV/c, respectively. The results are compared with theoretical model calculations. The values of RpPb are consistent with unity for transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c. These results support the interpretation that the suppressed yield of neutral mesons measured in Pb–Pb collisions at LHC energies is due to parton energy loss in the hot QCD medium.
Measurement of the inclusive isolated photon production cross section in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV
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The production cross section of inclusive isolated photons has been measured by the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at a centre-of-momentum energy of s√= 7 TeV. The measurement is performed with the electromagnetic calorimeter EMCal and the central tracking detectors, covering a range of |η|<0.27 in pseudorapidity and a transverse momentum range of 10<pγT<60 GeV/c. The result extends the pT coverage of previously published results of the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the same collision energy to smaller pT. The measurement is compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and to the results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments. All measurements and theory predictions are in agreement with each other.
The measurements of the production of prompt D0, D+, D∗+, and D+s mesons in proton–proton (pp) collisions at s√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are reported. D mesons were reconstructed at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) via their hadronic decay channels D0→K−π+, D+→K−π+π+, D∗+→D0π+→K−π+π+, D+s→ϕπ+→K+K−π+, and their charge conjugates. The production cross sections were measured in the transverse momentum interval 0<pT<36 GeV/c for D0, 1<pT<36 GeV/c for D+ and D∗+, and in 2<pT<24 GeV/c for D+s mesons. Thanks to the higher integrated luminosity, an analysis in finer pT bins with respect to the previous measurements at s√=7 TeV was performed, allowing for a more detailed description of the cross-section pT shape. The measured pT-differential production cross sections are compared to the results at s√=7 TeV and to four different perturbative QCD calculations. Its rapidity dependence is also tested combining the ALICE and LHCb measurements in pp collisions at s√=5.02 TeV. This measurement will allow for a more accurate determination of the nuclear modification factor in p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions performed at the same nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy.
We present a study of the inclusive charged-particle transverse momentum (pT) spectra as a function of charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-pseudorapidity, dNch/dη, in pp collisions at s√=5.02 and 13 TeV covering the kinematic range |η|<0.8 and 0.15<pT<20 GeV/c. The results are presented for events with at least one charged particle in |η|<1 (INEL>0). The pT spectra are reported for two multiplicity estimators covering different pseudorapidity regions. The pT spectra normalized to that for INEL>0 show little energy dependence. Moreover, the high-pT yields of charged particles increase faster than the charged-particle multiplicity density. The average pT as a function of multiplicity and transverse spherocity is reported for pp collisions at s√=13 TeV. For low- (high-) spherocity events, corresponding to jet-like (isotropic) events, the average pT is higher (smaller) than that measured in INEL>0 pp collisions. Within uncertainties, the functional form of ⟨pT⟩(Nch) is not affected by the spherocity selection. While EPOS LHC gives a good description of many features of data, PYTHIA overestimates the average pT in jet-like events.
The ALICE Collaboration has measured the energy dependence of exclusive photoproduction of J/ψ vector mesons off proton targets in ultra–peripheral p–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV. The e+e− and μ+μ− decay channels are used to measure the cross section as a function of the rapidity of the J/ψ in the range −2.5<y<2.7, corresponding to an energy in the γp centre-of-mass in the interval 40<Wγp<550 GeV. The measurements, which are consistent with a power law dependence of the exclusive J/ψ photoproduction cross section, are compared to previous results from HERA and the LHC and to several theoretical models. They are found to be compatible with previous measurements.
ϕ meson measurements provide insight into strangeness production, which is one of the key observables for the hot medium formed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. ALICE measured ϕ production through its decay in muon pairs in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV in the intermediate transverse momentum range 2<pT<5 GeV/c and in the rapidity interval 2.5<y<4. The ϕ yield was measured as a function of the transverse momentum and collision centrality. The nuclear modification factor was obtained as a function of the average number of participating nucleons. Results were compared with the ones obtained via the kaon decay channel in the same pT range at midrapidity. The values of the nuclear modification factor in the two rapidity regions are in agreement within uncertainties.
In the original version of this article unfortunately the copyright line in the PDF was wrong. The original article has been corrected.
This is an addendum to the article JHEP 11 (2015) 205 [1]. The figures 3 (right), 4 (right) and 5 are updated with published results on non-prompt J/ψ-meson production from the CMS collaboration.
The production of beauty hadrons was measured via semi-leptonic decays at mid-rapidity with the ALICE detector at the LHC in the transverse momentum interval 1<p T < 8 GeV/c in minimum-bias p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV and in 1.3 < p T < 8 GeV/c in the 20% most central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV. The pp reference spectra at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV and s√=2.76 TeV, needed for the calculation of the nuclear modification factors R pPb and R PbPb, were obtained by a pQCD-driven scaling of the cross section of electrons from beauty-hadron decays measured at s√=7 TeV. In the p T interval 3 < p T < 8 GeV/c, a suppression of the yield of electrons from beauty-hadron decays is observed in Pb-Pb compared to pp collisions. Towards lower p T, the R PbPb values increase with large systematic uncertainties. The R pPb is consistent with unity within systematic uncertainties and is well described by theoretical calculations that include cold nuclear matter effects in p-Pb collisions. The measured R pPb and these calculations indicate that cold nuclear matter effects are small at high transverse momentum also in Pb-Pb collisions. Therefore, the observed reduction of R PbPb below unity at high p T may be ascribed to an effect of the hot and dense medium formed in Pb-Pb collisions.
The pT-differential production cross section of prompt Λ +c charmed baryons was measured with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV at midrapidity. The Λ +c and Λ¯¯¯¯c¯¯¯ were reconstructed in the hadronic decay modes Λ +c → pK−π+, Λ +c → pK 0S and in the semileptonic channel Λ +c → e+νeΛ (and charge conjugates). The measured values of the Λ +c/D0 ratio, which is sensitive to the c-quark hadronisation mechanism, and in particular to the production of baryons, are presented and are larger than those measured previously in different colliding systems, centre-of-mass energies, rapidity and pT intervals, where the Λ +c production process may differ. The results are compared with the expectations obtained from perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics calculations and Monte Carlo event generators. Neither perturbative QCD calculations nor Monte Carlo models reproduce the data, indicating that the fragmentation of heavy-flavour baryons is not well understood. The first measurement at the LHC of the Λ +c nuclear modification factor, RpPb, is also presented. The RpPb is found to be consistent with unity and with that of D mesons within the uncertainties, and consistent with a theoretical calculation that includes cold nuclear matter effects and a calculation that includes charm quark interactions with a deconfined medium.
Inclusive J/ψ production is studied in p-Pb interactions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision sNN−−−√=8.16 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The J/ψ meson is reconstructed, via its decay to a muon pair, in the centre-of-mass rapidity intervals 2.03 < ycms < 3.53 and −4.46 < ycms < −2.96, where positive and negative ycms refer to the p-going and Pb-going direction, respectively. The transverse momentum coverage is pT < 20 GeV/c. In this paper, ycms- and pT-differential cross sections for inclusive J/ψ production are presented, and the corresponding nuclear modification factors RpPb are shown. Forward results show a suppression of the J/ψ yield with respect to pp collisions, concentrated in the region pT ≲ 5 GeV/c. At backward rapidity no significant suppression is observed. The results are compared to previous measurements by ALICE in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV and to theoretical calculations. Finally, the ratios RFB between forward- and backward-ycms RpPb values are shown and discussed.
Measurements of anisotropic flow coefficients with two- and multi-particle cumulants for inclusive charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 and 2.76 TeV are reported in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.8 and transverse momentum 0.2 < pT < 50 GeV/c. The full data sample collected by the ALICE detector in 2015 (2010), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 12.7 (2.0) μb−1 in the centrality range 0-80%, is analysed. Flow coefficients up to the sixth flow harmonic (v6) are reported and a detailed comparison among results at the two energies is carried out. The pT dependence of anisotropic flow coefficients and its evolution with respect to centrality and harmonic number n are investigated. An approximate power-law scaling of the form vn(pT) ∼ p n/3 T is observed for all flow harmonics at low pT (0.2 < pT < 3 GeV/c). At the same time, the ratios vn/v n/ m m are observed to be essentially independent of pT for most centralities up to about pT = 10 GeV/c. Analysing the differences among higher-order cumulants of elliptic flow (v2), which have different sensitivities to flow fluctuations, a measurement of the standardised skewness of the event-by-event v2 distribution P(v2) is reported and constraints on its higher moments are provided. The Elliptic Power distribution is used to parametrise P(v2), extracting its parameters from fits to cumulants. The measurements are compared to different model predictions in order to discriminate among initial-state models and to constrain the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy-density ratio.
The measurement of azimuthal correlations of charged particles is presented for Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV and p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. These correlations are measured for the second, third and fourth order flow vector in the pseudorapidity region |η| < 0.8 as a function of centrality and transverse momentum p T using two observables, to search for evidence of p T-dependent flow vector fluctuations. For Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV, the measurements indicate that p T-dependent fluctuations are only present for the second order flow vector. Similar results have been found for p-Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV. These measurements are compared to hydrodynamic model calculations with event-by-event geometry fluctuations in the initial state to constrain the initial conditions and transport properties of the matter created in Pb–Pb and p–Pb collisions.
The elliptic (v2), triangular (v3), and quadrangular (v4) flow coefficients of π±, K±, p+p¯¯¯,Λ+Λ¯¯¯¯,K0S, and the ϕ-meson are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at s√NN=5.02 TeV. Results obtained with the scalar product method are reported for the rapidity range |y| < 0.5 as a function of transverse momentum, pT, at different collision centrality intervals between 0–70%, including ultra-central (0–1%) collisions for π±, K±, and p+p¯¯¯. For pT < 3 GeV/c, the flow coefficients exhibit a particle mass dependence. At intermediate transverse momenta (3 < pT < 8–10 GeV/c), particles show an approximate grouping according to their type (i.e., mesons and baryons). The ϕ-meson v2, which tests both particle mass dependence and type scaling, follows p+p¯¯¯ v2 at low pT and π± v2 at intermediate pT. The evolution of the shape of vn(pT) as a function of centrality and harmonic number n is studied for the various particle species. Flow coefficients of π±, K±, and p+p¯¯¯ for pT < 3 GeV/c are compared to iEBE-VISHNU and MUSIC hydrodynamical calculations coupled to a hadronic cascade model (UrQMD). The iEBE-VISHNU calculations describe the results fairly well for pT < 2.5 GeV/c, while MUSIC calculations reproduce the measurements for pT < 1 GeV/c. A comparison to vn coefficients measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV is also provided.
Inclusive J/ψ production is studied in minimum-bias proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√ = 5.02 TeV by ALICE at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.9) in the dielectron decay channel down to zero transverse momentum pT, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of Lint = 19.4 ± 0.4 nb−1. The measured pT-integrated inclusive J/ψ production cross sec- tion is dσ/dy = 5.64 ± 0.22(stat.) ± 0.33(syst.) ± 0.12(lumi.) μb. The pT-differential cross section d2σ/dpTdy is measured in the pT range 0–10 GeV/c and compared with state-of- the-art QCD calculations. The J/ψ 〈pT〉 and ⟨p2T⟩ are extracted and compared with results obtained at other collision energies.
Two-particle correlations in high-energy collision experiments enable the extraction of particle source radii by using the Bose-Einstein enhancement of pion production at low relative momentum q ∝ 1/R. It was previously observed that in pp collisions at s√ = 7TeV the average pair transverse momentum kT range of such analyses is limited due to large background correlations which were attributed to mini-jet phenomena. To investigate this further, an event-shape dependent analysis of Bose-Einstein correlations for pion pairs is performed in this work. By categorizing the events by their transverse sphericity ST into spherical (ST > 0:7) and jet-like (ST < 0:3) events a method was developed that allows for the determination of source radii for much larger values of kT for the first time. Spherical events demonstrate little or no background correlations while jet-like events are dominated by them. This observation agrees with the hypothesis of a mini-jet origin of the non-femtoscopic background correlations and gives new insight into the physics interpretation of the kT dependence of the radii. The emission source size in spherical events shows a substantially diminished kT dependence, while jet-like events show indications of a negative trend with respect to kT in the highest multiplicity events. Regarding the emission source shape, the correlation functions for both event sphericity classes show good agreement with an exponential shape, rather than a Gaussian one.
The production of charm jets in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s√=7 TeV was measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 6.23 nb−1, collected using a minimum-bias trigger. Charm jets are identified by the presence of a D0 meson among their constituents. The D0 mesons are reconstructed from their hadronic decay D0 →K−π+. The D0-meson tagged jets are reconstructed using tracks of charged particles (track-based jets) with the anti-kT algorithm in the jet transverse momentum range 5<pchT,jet< 30 GeV/c and pseudorapidity |ηjet| < 0.5. The fraction of charged jets containing a D0-meson increases with pchT,jet from 0.042 ± 0.004 (stat) ± 0.006 (syst) to 0.080 ± 0.009 (stat) ± 0.008 (syst). The distribution of D0-meson tagged jets as a function of the jet momentum fraction carried by the D0 meson in the direction of the jet axis (zch∥) is reported for two ranges of jet transverse momenta, 5<pchT,jet< 15 GeV/c and 15<pchT,jet< 30 GeV/c in the intervals 0.2<zch∥∥<1.0 and 0.4<zch∥∥<1.0, respectively. The data are compared with results from Monte Carlo event generators (PYTHIA 6, PYTHIA 8 and Herwig 7) and with a Next-to-Leading-Order perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics calculation, obtained with the POWHEG method and interfaced with PYTHIA 6 for the generation of the parton shower, fragmentation, hadronisation and underlying event.
The production yield of prompt D mesons and their elliptic flow coefficient v2 were measured with the Event-Shape Engineering (ESE) technique applied to mid-central (10–30% and 30–50% centrality classes) Pb-Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV, with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The ESE technique allows the classification of events, belonging to the same centrality, according to the azimuthal anisotropy of soft particle production in the collision. The reported measurements give the opportunity to investigate the dynamics of charm quarks in the Quark-Gluon Plasma and provide information on their participation in the collective expansion of the medium. D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decays at mid-rapidity, |η| < 0.8, in the transverse momentum interval 1 < pT < 24 GeV/c. The v2 coefficient is found to be sensitive to the event-shape selection confirming a correlation between the D-meson azimuthal anisotropy and the collective expansion of the bulk matter, while the per-event D-meson yields do not show any significant modification within the current uncertainties.
We report the measured transverse momentum (pT) spectra of primary charged particles from pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV in the kinematic range of 0.15 < pT< 50 GeV/c and |η| < 0.8. A significant improvement of systematic uncertainties motivated the reanalysis of data in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV, as well as in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV, which is also presented. Spectra from Pb-Pb collisions are presented in nine centrality intervals and are compared to a reference spectrum from pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. For central collisions, the pT spectra are suppressed by more than a factor of 7 around 6–7 GeV/c with a significant reduction in suppression towards higher momenta up to 30 GeV/c. The nuclear modification factor RpPb, constructed from the pp and p-Pb spectra measured at the same collision energy, is consistent with unity above 8 GeV/c. While the spectra in both pp and Pb-Pb collisions are substantially harder at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV compared to 2.76 TeV, the nuclear modification factors show no significant collision energy dependence. The obtained results should provide further constraints on the parton energy loss calculations to determine the transport properties of the hot and dense QCD matter.
We report measurements of the production of prompt D0, D+, D*+ and D+s mesons in Pb–Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV, in the centrality classes 0–10%, 30–50% and 60–80%. The D-meson production yields are measured at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.5) as a function of transverse momentum (pT). The pT intervals covered in central collisions are: 1 < pT< 50 GeV/c for D0, 2 < pT< 50GeV/c for D+, 3 < pT< 50GeV/c for D*+, and 4 < pT< 16GeV/c for D +s mesons. The nuclear modification factors (RAA) for non-strange D mesons (D0, D+, D*+) show minimum values of about 0.2 for pT = 6–10 GeV/c in the most central collisions and are compatible within uncertainties with those measured at s√NN=2.76 TeV. For D +s mesons, the values of RAA are larger than those of non-strange D mesons, but compatible within uncertainties. In central collisions the average RAA of non-strange D mesons is compatible with that of charged particles for pT> 8 GeV/c, while it is larger at lower pT. The nuclear modification factors for strange and non-strange D mesons are also compared to theoretical models with different implementations of in-medium energy loss.
Medium modification of the shape of small-radius jets in central Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV
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We present the measurement of a new set of jet shape observables for track-based jets in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76 TeV. The set of jet shapes includes the first radial moment or angularity, g; the momentum dispersion, pTD; and the difference between the leading and sub-leading constituent track transverse momentum, LeSub. These observables provide complementary information on the jet fragmentation and can constrain different aspects of the theoretical description of jet-medium interactions. The jet shapes were measured for a small resolution parameter R = 0.2 and were fully corrected to particle level. The observed jet shape modifications indicate that in-medium fragmentation is harder and more collimated than vacuum fragmentation as obtained by PYTHIA calculations, which were validated with the measurements of the jet shapes in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV. The comparison of the measured distributions to templates for quark and gluon-initiated jets indicates that in-medium fragmentation resembles that of quark jets in vacuum. We further argue that the observed modifications are not consistent with a totally coherent energy loss picture where the jet loses energy as a single colour charge, suggesting that the medium resolves the jet structure at the angular scales probed by our measurements (R = 0.2). Furthermore, we observe that small-R jets can help to isolate purely energy loss effects from other effects that contribute to the modifications of the jet shower in medium such as the correlated background or medium response.
The first measurement of e+e− pair production at mid-rapidity (|ηe| < 0.8) in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with ALICE at the LHC is presented. The dielectron production is studied as a function of the invariant mass (mee < 3.3 GeV/c2), the pair transverse momentum (pT,ee < 8 GeV/c), and the pair transverse impact parameter (DCAee), i.e., the average distance of closest approach of the reconstructed electron and positron tracks to the collision vertex, normalised to its resolution. The results are compared with the expectations from a cocktail of known hadronic sources and are well described when PYTHIA is used to generate the heavy-flavour contributions. In the low-mass region (0.14 < mee < 1.1 GeV/c2), prompt and non-prompt e+e− sources can be separated via the DCAee. In the intermediate-mass region (1.1 < mee < 2.7 GeV/c2), a double-differential fit to the data in mee and pT,ee and a fit of the DCAee distribution allow the total cc¯¯ and bb¯¯¯ cross sections to be extracted. Two different event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, can reproduce the shape of the two-dimensional mee and pT,ee spectra, as well as the shape of the DCAee distribution, reasonably well. However, differences in the cc¯¯ and bb¯¯¯ cross sections are observed when using the generators to extrapolate to full phase space. Finally, the ratio of inclusive to decay photons is studied via the measurement of virtual direct photons in the transverse-momentum range 1 < pT < 8 GeV/c. This is found to be unity within the statistical and systematic uncertainties and consistent with expectations from next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamic calculations.
The inclusive J/ψ production in Pb–Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV, measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC, is reported. The J/ψ meson is reconstructed via the dimuon decay channel at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) down to zero transverse momentum. The suppression of the J/ψ yield in Pb–Pb collisions with respect to binary-scaled pp collisions is quantified by the nuclear modification factor (RAA). The RAA at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV is presented and compared with previous measurements at sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV as a function of the centrality of the collision, and of the J/ψ transverse momentum and rapidity. The inclusive J/ψ RAA shows a suppression increasing toward higher transverse momentum, with a steeper dependence for central collisions. The modification of the J/ψ average transverse momentum and average squared transverse momentum is also studied. Comparisons with the results of models based on a transport equation and on statistical hadronization are carried out.
Production cross sections of muons from semi-leptonic decays of charm and beauty hadrons were measured at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) in proton-proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The results were obtained in an extended transverse momentum interval, 2 < pT< 20 GeV/c, and with an improved precision compared to previous measurements performed in the same rapidity interval at centre-of-mass energies s√ = 2.76 and 7 TeV. The pT- and y-differential production cross sections as well as the pT-differential production cross section ratios between different centre-of-mass energies and different rapidity intervals are described, within experimental and theoretical uncertainties, by predictions based on perturbative QCD.
The multiplicity dependence of electron production from heavy-flavour hadron decays as a function of transverse momentum was measured in p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The measurement was performed in the centre-of-mass rapidity interval −1.07 < ycms < 0.14 and transverse momentum interval 2 < pT < 16 GeV/c. The multiplicity dependence of the production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was studied by comparing the pT spectra measured for different multiplicity classes with those measured in pp collisions (QpPb) and in peripheral p-Pb collisions (Qcp). The QpPb results obtained are consistent with unity within uncertainties in the measured pT interval and event classes. This indicates that heavy-flavour decay electron production is consistent with binary scaling and independent of the geometry of the collision system. Additionally, the results suggest that cold nuclear matter effects are negligible within uncertainties, in the production of heavy-flavour decay electrons at midrapidity in p-Pb collisions.
The measurement of the production of prompt D0, D+, D*+, and D+S mesons in proton–lead (p–Pb) collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV, with an integrated luminosity of 292 ± 11 μb−1, are reported. Differential production cross sections are measured at mid-rapidity (−0.96 < ycms< 0.04) as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in the intervals 0 < pT< 36 GeV/c for D0, 1 < pT< 36 GeV/c for D+ and D*+, and 2 < pT< 24 GeV/c for D+ mesons. For each species, the nuclear modification factor RpPb is calculated as a function of pT using a proton-proton (pp) ref- erence measured at the same collision energy. The results are compatible with unity in the whole pT range. The average of the non-strange D mesons RpPb is compared with theoretical model predictions that include initial-state effects and parton transport model predictions. The pT dependence of the D0, D+, and D*+ nuclear modification factors is also reported in the interval 1 < pT< 36 GeV/c as a function of the collision centrality, and the central-to-peripheral ratios are computed from the D-meson yields measured in different centrality classes. The results are further compared with charged-particle measurements and a similar trend is observed in all the centrality classes. The ratios of the pT-differential cross sections of D0, D+, D*+, and D+S mesons are also reported. The D+S and D+ yields are compared as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity for several pT intervals. No modification in the relative abundances of the four species is observed with respect to pp collisions within the statistical and systematic uncertainties.
The transverse structure of jets was studied via jet fragmentation transverse momentum (jT) distributions, obtained using two-particle correlations in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions, measured with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The highest transverse momentum particle in each event is used as the trigger particle and the region 3 < pTt < 15GeV/c is explored in this study. The measured distributions show a clear narrow Gaussian component and a wide non-Gaussian one. Based on Pythia simulations, the narrow component can be related to non-perturbative hadronization and the wide component to quantum chromodynamical splitting. The width of the narrow component shows a weak dependence on the transverse momentum of the trigger particle, in agreement with the expectation of universality of the hadronization process. On the other hand, the width of the wide component shows a rising trend suggesting increased branching for higher transverse momentum. The results obtained in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and in p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV are compatible within uncertainties and hence no significant cold nuclear matter effects are observed. The results are compared to previous measurements from CCOR and PHENIX as well as to PYTHIA 8 and Herwig 7 simulations.
The second (v2) and third (v3) flow harmonic coefficients of J/ψ mesons are measured at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4.0) in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. Results are obtained with the scalar product method and reported as a function of transverse momentum, pT, for various collision centralities. A positive value of J/ψ v3 is observed with 3.7σ significance. The measurements, compared to those of prompt D0 mesons and charged particles at mid-rapidity, indicate an ordering with vn(J/ψ) < vn(D0) < vn(h±) (n = 2, 3) at low and intermediate pT up to 6 GeV/c and a convergence with v2(J/ψ) ≈ v2(D0) ≈ v2(h±) at high pT above 6–8 GeV/c. In semi-central collisions (5–40% and 10–50% centrality intervals) at intermediate pT between 2 and 6 GeV/c, the ratio v3/v2 of J/ψ mesons is found to be significantly lower (4.6σ) with respect to that of charged particles. In addition, the comparison to the prompt D0-meson ratio in the same pT interval suggests an ordering similar to that of the v2 and v3 coefficients. The J/ψ v2 coefficient is further studied using the Event Shape Engineering technique. The obtained results are found to be compatible with the expected variations of the eccentricity of the initial-state geometry.
The production of the Λ(1520) baryonic resonance has been measured at midrapidity in inelastic pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and in p–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV for non-single diffractive events and in multiplicity classes. The resonance is reconstructed through its hadronic decay channel Λ(1520) →pK− and the charge conjugate with the ALICE detector. The integrated yields and mean transverse momenta are calculated from the measured transverse momentum distributions in pp and p–Pb collisions. The mean transverse momenta follow mass ordering as previously observed for other hyperons in the same collision systems. A Blast-Wave function constrained by other light hadrons (π, K, K0S, p, Λ) describes the shape of the Λ(1520) transverse momentum distribution up to 3.5 GeV/c in p–Pb collisions. In the framework of this model, this observation suggests that the Λ(1520) resonance participates in the same collective radial flow as other light hadrons. The ratio of the yield of Λ(1520) to the yield of the ground state particle Λ remains constant as a function of charged-particle multiplicity, suggesting that there is no net effect of the hadronic phase in p–Pb collisions on the Λ(1520) yield.
We present the charged-particle multiplicity distributions over a wide pseudorapidity range (−3.4<η<5.0) for pp collisions at s√=0.9,7, and 8 TeV at the LHC. Results are based on information from the Silicon Pixel Detector and the Forward Multiplicity Detector of ALICE, extending the pseudorapidity coverage of the earlier publications and the high-multiplicity reach. The measurements are compared to results from the CMS experiment and to PYTHIA, PHOJET and EPOS LHC event generators, as well as IP-Glasma calculations.
The measurement of the mass differences for systems bound by the strong force has reached a very high precision with protons and anti-protons1,2. The extension of such measurement from (anti-)baryons to (anti-)nuclei allows one to probe any difference in the interactions between nucleons and anti-nucleons encoded in the (anti-)nuclei masses. This force is a remnant of the underlying strong interaction among quarks and gluons and can be described by effective theories3, but cannot yet be directly derived from quantum chromodynamics. Here we report a measurement of the difference between the ratios of the mass and charge of deuterons (d) and anti-deuterons (), and 3He and nuclei carried out with the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment)4 detector in Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. Our direct measurement of the mass-over-charge differences confirms CPT invariance to an unprecedented precision in the sector of light nuclei5,6. This fundamental symmetry of nature, which exchanges particles with anti-particles, implies that all physics laws are the same under the simultaneous reversal of charge(s) (charge conjugation C), reflection of spatial coordinates (parity transformation P) and time inversion (T).
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.
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.
Measurements of the production cross sections of prompt D0, D+, D∗+, D+s, Λ+c, and Ξ+c charm hadrons at midrapidity in proton−proton collisions at s√=13 TeV with the ALICE detector are presented. The D-meson cross sections as a function of transverse momentum (pT) are provided with improved precision and granularity. The ratios of pT-differential meson production cross sections based on this publication and on measurements at different rapidity and collision energy provide a constraint on gluon parton distribution functions at low values of Bjorken-x (10−5−10−4). The measurements of Λ+c (Ξ+c) baryon production extend the measured pT intervals down to pT=0(3)~GeV/c. These measurements are used to determine the charm-quark fragmentation fractions and the cc¯¯ production cross section at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) based on the sum of the cross sections of the weakly-decaying ground-state charm hadrons D0, D+, D+s, Λ+c, Ξ0c and, for the first time, Ξ+c, and of the strongly-decaying J/psi mesons. The first measurements of Ξ+c and Σ0,++c fragmentation fractions at midrapidity are also reported. A significantly larger fraction of charm quarks hadronising to baryons is found compared to e+e− and ep collisions. The cc¯¯ production cross section at midrapidity is found to be at the upper bound of state-of-the-art perturbative QCD calculations.
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 elliptic flow (v2) of D0 mesons from beauty-hadron decays (non-prompt D0) was measured in midcentral (30-50%) Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The D0 mesons were reconstructed at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) from their hadronic decay D0→K−π+, in the transverse momentum interval 2<pT<12 GeV/c. The result indicates a positive v2 for non-prompt D0 mesons with a significance of 2.7σ. The non-prompt D0-meson v2 is lower than that of prompt non-strange D mesons with 3.2σ significance in 2<pT<8 GeV/c, and compatible with the v2 of beauty-decay electrons. Theoretical calculations of beauty-quark transport in a hydrodynamically expanding medium describe the measurement within uncertainties.
Measurements of charged-particle production in pp, p−Pb, and Pb−Pb collisions in the toward, away, and transverse regions with the ALICE detector are discussed. These regions are defined event-by-event relative to the azimuthal direction of the charged trigger particle, which is the reconstructed particle with the largest transverse momentum (ptrigT) in the range 8<ptrigT<15 GeV/c. The toward and away regions contain the primary and recoil jets, respectively; both regions are accompanied by the underlying event (UE). In contrast, the transverse region perpendicular to the direction of the trigger particle is dominated by the so-called UE dynamics, and includes also contributions from initial- and final-state radiation. The relative transverse activity classifier, RT=NTch/⟨NTch⟩, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where NTch is the charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and ⟨NTch⟩ is the mean value over the whole analysed sample. The energy dependence of the RT distributions in pp collisions at s√=2.76, 5.02, 7, and 13 TeV is reported, exploring the Koba-Nielsen-Olesen (KNO) scaling properties of the multiplicity distributions. The first measurements of charged-particle pT spectra as a function of RT in the three azimuthal regions in pp, p−Pb, and Pb−Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV are also reported. Data are compared with predictions obtained from the event generators PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC. This set of measurements is expected to contribute to the understanding of the origin of collective-like effects in small collision systems (pp and p−Pb).
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.
The cross section for coherent photonuclear production of J/ψ is presented as a function of the electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of Pb. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV. Cross sections are presented in five different J/ψ rapidity ranges within |y|<4, with the J/ψ reconstructed via its dilepton decay channels. In some events the J/ψ is not accompanied by EMD, while other events do produce neutrons from EMD at beam rapidities either in one or the other beam direction, or in both. The cross sections in a given rapidity range and for different configurations of neutrons from EMD allow for the extraction of the energy dependence of this process in the range 17<WγPb,n<920 GeV, where WγPb,n is the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γPb system. This range corresponds to a Bjorken-x interval spanning about three orders of magnitude: 1.1×10−5<x<3.3×10−2. In addition to the ultra-peripheral and photonuclear cross sections, the nuclear suppression factor is obtained. These measurements point to a strong depletion of the gluon distribution in Pb nuclei over a broad, previously unexplored, energy range. These results, together with previous ALICE measurements, provide unprecedented information to probe quantum chromodynamics at high energies.
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.
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.