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Institute
- Physik (383) (remove)
Jet fragmentation transverse momentum distributions in pp and p-Pb collisions at √s, √sNN = 5.02 TeV
(2021)
Jet fragmentation transverse momentum (jT) distributions are measured in proton-proton (pp) and proton-lead (p-Pb) collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed with the ALICE tracking detectors and electromagnetic calorimeter using the anti-kT algorithm with resolution parameter R = 0.4 in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.25. The jT values are calculated for charged particles inside a fixed cone with a radius R = 0.4 around the reconstructed jet axis. The measured jT distributions are compared with a variety of parton-shower models. Herwig and PYTHIA 8 based models describe the data well for the higher jT region, while they underestimate the lower jT region. The jT distributions are further characterised by fitting them with a function composed of an inverse gamma function for higher jT values (called the “wide component”), related to the perturbative component of the fragmentation process, and with a Gaussian for lower jT values (called the “narrow component”), predominantly connected to the hadronisation process. The width of the Gaussian has only a weak dependence on jet transverse momentum, while that of the inverse gamma function increases with increasing jet transverse momentum. For the narrow component, the measured trends are successfully described by all models except for Herwig. For the wide component, Herwig and PYTHIA 8 based models slightly underestimate the data for the higher jet transverse momentum region. These measurements set constraints on models of jet fragmentation and hadronisation.
The ALICE Collaboration reports the first fully-corrected measurements of the N-subjettiness observable for track-based jets in heavy-ion collisions. This study is performed using data recorded in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energies of s√ = 7 TeV and sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV, respectively. In particular the ratio of 2-subjettiness to 1-subjettiness, τ2/τ1, which is sensitive to the rate of two-pronged jet substructure, is presented. Energy loss of jets traversing the strongly interacting medium in heavy-ion collisions is expected to change the rate of two-pronged substructure relative to vacuum. The results are presented for jets with a resolution parameter of R = 0.4 and charged jet transverse momentum of 40 ≤ pT,jet ≤ 60 GeV/c, which constitute a larger jet resolution and lower jet transverse momentum interval than previous measurements in heavy-ion collisions. This has been achieved by utilising a semi-inclusive hadron-jet coincidence technique to suppress the larger jet combinatorial background in this kinematic region. No significant modification of the τ2/τ1 observable for track-based jets in Pb-Pb collisions is observed relative to vacuum PYTHIA6 and PYTHIA8 references at the same collision energy. The measurements of τ2/τ1, together with the splitting aperture angle ∆R, are also performed in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV for inclusive jets. These results are compared with PYTHIA calculations at s√ = 7 TeV, in order to validate the model as a vacuum reference for the Pb-Pb centre-of-mass energy. The PYTHIA references for τ2/τ1 are shifted to larger values compared to the measurement in pp collisions. This hints at a reduction in the rate of two-pronged jets in Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions.
The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section of the charm-strange baryon Ξ0c is measured at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) via its semileptonic decay into e+Ξ−νe in pp collisions at s√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The ratio of the pT-differential Ξ0c-baryon and D0-meson production cross sections is also reported. The measurements are compared with simulations with different tunes of the PYTHIA 8 event generator, with predictions from a statistical hadronisation model (SHM) with a largely augmented set of charm-baryon states beyond the current lists of the Particle Data Group, and with models including hadronisation via quark coalescence. The pT-integrated cross section of prompt Ξ0c-baryon production at midrapidity is also reported, which is used to calculate the baryon-to-meson ratio Ξ0c/D0 = 0.20 ± 0.04 (stat.)+0.08−0.07 (syst.). These results provide an additional indication of a modification of the charm fragmentation from e+e− and e−p collisions to pp collisions.
Measurements of elliptic (v2) and triangular (v3) flow coefficients of π±, K±, p+p¯¯¯, K0S, and Λ+Λ¯¯¯¯ obtained with the scalar product method in Xe-Xe collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.44 TeV are presented. The results are obtained in the rapidity range |y| < 0.5 and reported as a function of transverse momentum, pT, for several collision centrality classes. The flow coefficients exhibit a particle mass dependence for pT < 3 GeV/c, while a grouping according to particle type (i.e., meson and baryon) is found at intermediate transverse momenta (3 < pT < 8 GeV/c). The magnitude of the baryon v2 is larger than that of mesons up to pT = 6 GeV/c. The centrality dependence of the shape evolution of the pT-differential v2 is studied for the various hadron species. The v2 coefficients of π±, K±, and p+p¯¯¯ are reproduced by MUSIC hydrodynamic calculations coupled to a hadronic cascade model (UrQMD) for pT < 1 GeV/c. A comparison with vn measurements in the corresponding centrality intervals in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV yields an enhanced v2 in central collisions and diminished value in semicentral collisions.
The electromagnetic process is studied with the initial-state-radiation technique using 7.5 fb−1 of data collected by the BESIII experiment at seven energy points from 3.773 to 4.600 GeV. The Born cross section and the effective form factor of the proton are measured from the production threshold to 3.0 GeV/ using the invariant-mass spectrum. The ratio of electric and magnetic form factors of the proton is determined from the analysis of the proton-helicity angular distribution.
We report on the inclusive J/ψ production cross section measured at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy s√ = 13 TeV. The J/ψ mesons are reconstructed in the e+e− decay channel and the measurements are performed at midrapidity (|y|<0.9) in the transverse-momentum interval 0<pT<40 GeV/c, using a minimum-bias data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity Lint=32.2 nb−1 and an Electromagnetic Calorimeter triggered data sample with Lint=8.3 pb−1. The pT-integrated J/ψ production cross section at midrapidity, computed using the minimum-bias data sample, is dσ/dy|y=0=8.97±0.24 (stat)±0.48 (syst)±0.15 (lumi) μb. An approximate logarithmic dependence with the collision energy is suggested by these results and available world data, in agreement with model predictions. The integrated and pT-differential measurements are compared with measurements in pp collisions at lower energies and with several recent phenomenological calculations based on the non-relativistic QCD and Color Evaporation models.
Measurements of event-by-event fluctuations of charged-particle multiplicities in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV using the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are presented in the pseudorapidity range |η|<0.8 and transverse momentum 0.2<pT<2.0 GeV/c. The amplitude of the fluctuations is expressed in terms of the variance normalized by the mean of the multiplicity distribution. The η and pT dependences of the fluctuations and their evolution with respect to collision centrality are investigated. The multiplicity fluctuations tend to decrease from peripheral to central collisions. The results are compared to those obtained from HIJING and AMPT Monte Carlo event generators as well as to experimental data at lower collision energies. Additionally, the measured multiplicity fluctuations are discussed in the context of the isothermal compressibility of the high-density strongly-interacting system formed in central Pb–Pb collisions.
Two-particle Azimuthal correlations are measured with the ALICE apparatus in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV to explore strangeness- and multiplicity-related effects in the fragmentation of jets and the transition regime between bulk and hard production, probed with the condition that a strange meson (KS0) or baryon (Λ) with transverse momentum pT>3 GeV/c is produced. Azimuthal correlations between kaons or Λ hyperons with other hadrons are presented at midrapidity for a broad range of the trigger (3<ptriggT<20 GeV/c) and associated particle pT (1 GeV/c <passocT<ptriggT), for minimum-bias events and as a function of the event multiplicity. The near- and away-side peak yields are compared for the case of either KS0 or Λ(Λ¯¯¯¯) being the trigger particle with that of inclusive hadrons (a sample dominated by pions). In addition, the measurements are compared with predictions from PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC event generators.
The production of π±, K±, K0S, K∗(892)0, p, ϕ(1020), Λ, Ξ−, Ω−, and their antiparticles was measured in inelastic proton–proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s√ = 13 TeV at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) as a function of transverse momentum (pT) using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. Furthermore, the single-particle pT distributions of K0S, Λ, and Λ¯¯¯¯ in inelastic pp collisions at s√=7 TeV are reported here for the first time. The pT distributions are studied at midrapidity within the transverse momentum range 0≤pT≤20 GeV/c, depending on the particle species. The pT spectra, integrated yields, and particle yield ratios are discussed as a function of collision energy and compared with measurements at lower s√ and with results from various general-purpose QCD-inspired Monte Carlo models. A hardening of the spectra at high pT with increasing collision energy is observed, which is similar for all particle species under study. The transverse mass and xT≡2pT/s√ scaling properties of hadron production are also studied. As the collision energy increases from s√ = 7–13 TeV, the yields of non- and single-strange hadrons normalized to the pion yields remain approximately constant as a function of s√, while ratios for multi-strange hadrons indicate enhancements. The pT-differential cross sections of π±, K± and p (p¯¯¯) are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations, which are found to overestimate the cross sections for π± and p (p¯¯¯) at high pT.
The coherent photoproduction of J/ψ and ψ′ mesons was measured in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector. Charmonia are detected in the central rapidity region for events where the hadronic interactions are strongly suppressed. The J/ψ is reconstructed using the dilepton (l+l−) and proton–antiproton decay channels, while for the ψ′ the dilepton and the l+l−π+π− decay channels are studied. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 233 μb−1. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent J/ψ and ψ′ photoproduction. The coherent cross section is found to be in a good agreement with models incorporating moderate nuclear gluon shadowing of about 0.64 at a Bjorken-x of around 6×10−4, such as the EPS09 parametrization, however none of the models is able to fully describe the rapidity dependence of the coherent J/ψ cross section including ALICE measurements at forward rapidity. The ratio of ψ′ to J/ψ coherent photoproduction cross sections was also measured and found to be consistent with the one for photoproduction off protons.
The production of ϕ mesons has been studied in pp collisions at LHC energies with the ALICE detector via the dimuon decay channel in the rapidity region 2.5<y<4. Measurements of the differential cross section d2σ/dydpT are presented as a function of the transverse momentum (pT) at the center-of-mass energies s√=5.02, 8 and 13 TeV and compared with the ALICE results at midrapidity. The differential cross sections at s√=5.02 and 13 TeV are also studied in several rapidity intervals as a function of pT, and as a function of rapidity in three pT intervals. A hardening of the pT-differential cross section with the collision energy is observed, while, for a given energy, pT spectra soften with increasing rapidity and, conversely, rapidity distributions get slightly narrower at increasing pT. The new results, complementing the published measurements at s√=2.76 and 7 TeV, allow one to establish the energy dependence of ϕ meson production and to compare the measured cross sections with phenomenological models. None of the considered models manages to describe the evolution of the cross section with pT and rapidity at all the energies.
Constraints on the Covariant Canonical Gauge Gravity (CCGG) theory from low-redshift cosmology are studied. The formulation extends Einstein’s theory of General Relativity (GR) by a quadratic Riemann–Cartan term in the Lagrangian, controlled by a “deformation” parameter. In the Friedman universe this leads to an additional geometrical stress energy and promotes, due to the necessary presence of torsion, the cosmological constant to a time-dependent function. The MCMC analysis of the combined data sets of Type Ia Supernovae, Cosmic Chronometers and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations yields a fit that is well comparable with the ΛCDM results. The modifications implied in the CCGG approach turn out to be subdominant in the low-redshift cosmology. However, a non-zero spatial curvature and deformation parameter are shown to be consistent with observations.
The first measurements of the production of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. The measurement of the nuclear modification factor RAA is performed as a function of transverse momentum pT in several centrality classes at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) and midrapidity (|y| < 0.8) for muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays, respectively. A suppression by a factor up to about 2.5 compared to the binary-scaled pp reference is observed in central collisions at both central and forward rapidities. The RAA of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays is compared to previous measurements in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV. When the nuclear modification factors are compared in the centrality classes 0–10% for Xe–Xe collisions and 10–20% for Pb–Pb collisions, which have similar charged-particle multiplicity density, a similar suppression, with RAA ∼ 0.4 in the pT interval 4 < pT < 8 GeV/c, is observed. The comparison of the measured RAA values in the two collision systems brings new insights on the properties of the quark-gluon plasma by investigating the system-size and geometry dependence of medium-induced parton energy loss. The results of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays provide new constraints to model calculations.
Measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 and 2.76 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The nuclear modification factor RAA at √sNN = 5.02 TeV is measured at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) as a function of transverse momentum pT in central, semi-central, and peripheral collisions over a wide pT interval, 3 < pT < 20 GeV/c, in which muons from beauty-hadron decays are expected to take over from charm as the dominant source at high pT (pT > 7 GeV/c). The RAA shows an increase of the suppression of the yields of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays with increasing centrality. A suppression by a factor of about three is observed in the 10% most central collisions. The RAA at √sNN = 5.02 TeV is similar to that at √sNN = 2.76 TeV. The precise RAA measurements have the potential to distinguish between model predictions implementing different mechanisms of parton energy loss in the high-density medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. They place important constraints for the understanding of the heavy-quark interaction with the hot and dense QCD medium.
The HADES experiment at GSI has recently provided data on the flow coefficients v1,..., v4 for protons in Au+Au reactions at Elab = 1.23 AGeV (or √sNN = 2.4 GeV). This data allows to estimate the shear viscosity over entropy density ratio, η/s at low energies via a coarse graining analysis of the UrQMD transport simulations of the flow harmonics in comparison to the experimental data. By this we can provide for the first time an estimate of η/s ≈ 0.65 ± 0.15 (or (8 ± 2)(4π)−1) at such low energies.
ϒ production and nuclear modification at forward rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02TeV
(2021)
The production of ϒ mesons in Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √sNN = 5.02 TeV is measured with the muon spectrometer of the ALICE detector at the LHC. The yields as well as the nuclear modification factors are determined in the forward rapidity region 2.5 < y < 4.0, as a function of rapidity, transverse momentum and collision centrality. The results show that the production of the ϒ(1S) meson is suppressed by a factor of about three with respect to the production in proton–proton collisions. For the first time, a significant signal for the ϒ(2S) meson is observed at forward rapidity, indicating a suppression stronger by about a factor 2–3 with respect to the ground state. The measurements are compared with transport, hydrodynamic, comover and statistical hadronisation model calculations.
The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γ p data and γ –Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number (A) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe + Xe → ρ0 + Xe + Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ0 → π+π−, is found to be dσ/dy = 131.5 ± 5.6(stat.)+17.5 −16.9(syst.) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γ A system of Wγ A,n = 65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ(γ A → ρ0 A) ∝ Aα with a slope α = 0.96 ± 0.02(syst.). This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.
The first measurement of the cross section for coherent J/ψ photoproduction as a function of |t|, the square of the momentum transferred between the incoming and outgoing target nucleus, is presented. The data were measured with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the J/ψ produced in the central rapidity region |y| < 0.8,
which corresponds to the small Bjorken-x range (0.3 − 1.4) × 10−3.
The measured |t|-dependence is not described by computations based only on the Pb nuclear form factor, while the photonuclear cross section is better reproduced by models including shadowing according to the leading-twist approximation, or gluon-saturation effects from the impact-parameter dependent Balitsky–Kovchegov equation. These new results are therefore a valid tool to constrain the relevant model parameters and to investigate the transverse gluonic structure at very low Bjorken-x.
The polarization of inclusive J/ψ and ϒ(1S) produced in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC is measured with the ALICE detector. The study is carried out by reconstructing the quarkonium through its decay to muon pairs in the rapidity region 2.5 < y < 4 and measuring the polar and azimuthal angular distributions of the muons. The polarization parameters λθ , λφ and λθφ are measured in the helicity and Collins-Soper reference frames, in the transverse momentum interval 2 < pT < 10 GeV/c and pT < 15 GeV/c for the J/ψ and ϒ(1S), respectively. The polarization parameters for the J/ψ are found to be compatible with zero, within a maximum of about two standard deviations at low pT, for both reference frames and over the whole pT range. The values are compared with the corresponding results obtained for pp collisions at √s = 7 and 8 TeV in a similar kinematic region by the ALICE and LHCb experiments. Although with much larger uncertainties, the polarization parameters for ϒ(1S) production in Pb–Pb collisions are also consistent with zero.
Deuteron production in high-energy collisions is sensitive to the space–time evolution of the collision system, and is typically described by a coalescence mechanism. For the first time, we present results on jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV, providing an opportunity to test the established picture for deuteron production in events with a hard scattering. Using a trigger particle with high transverse-momentum (pT > 5 GeV/c) as a proxy for the presence of a jet at midrapidity, we observe a measurable population of deuterons being produced around the jet proxy. The associated deuteron yield measured in a narrow angular range around the trigger particle differs by 2.4–4.8 standard deviations from the uncorrelated background. The data are described by PYTHIA model calculations featuring baryon coalescence.
Pion-kaon femtoscopy and the lifetime of the hadronic phase in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV
(2021)
In this paper, the first femtoscopic analysis of pion–kaon correlations at the LHC is reported. The analysis was performed on the Pb–Pb collision data at √sNN = 2.76 TeV recorded with the ALICE detector. The non-identical particle correlations probe the spatio-temporal separation between sources of different particle species as well as the average source size of the emitting system. The sizes of the pion and kaon sources increase with centrality, and pions are emitted closer to the centre of the system and/or later than kaons. This is naturally expected in a system with strong radial flow and is qualitatively reproduced by hydrodynamic models. ALICE data on pion–kaon emission asymmetry are consistent with (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamics coupled to a statistical hadronisation model, resonance propagation, and decay code THERMINATOR 2 calculation, with an additional time delay between 1 and 2 fm/c for kaons. The delay can be interpreted as evidence for a significant hadronic rescattering phase in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC.
The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) of the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC was upgraded for Run 3 and Run 4. Readout chambers based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology and a new readout scheme allow continuous data taking at the highest interaction rates expected in Pb-Pb collisions. Due to the absence of a gating grid system, a significant amount of ions created in the multiplication region is expected to enter the TPC drift volume and distort the uniform electric field that guides the electrons to the readout pads. Analytical calculations were considered to correct for space-charge distortion fluctuations but they proved to be too slow for the calibration and reconstruction workflow in Run 3. In this paper, we discuss a novel strategy developed by the ALICE Collaboration to perform distortion-fluctuation corrections with machine learning and convolutional neural network techniques. The results of preliminary studies are shown and the prospects for further development and optimization are also discussed.
It is shown that the inclusion of hadronic interactions, and in particular nuclear potentials, in simulations of heavy ion collisions at the SPS energy range can lead to obvious correlations of protons. These correlations contribute significantly to an intermittency analysis as performed at the NA61 experiment. The beam energy and system size dependence is studied by comparing the resulting intermittency index for heavy ion collisions of different nuclei at beam energies of 40A, 80A and 150A GeV. The resulting intermittency index from our simulations is similar to the reported values of the NA61 collaboration, if nuclear interactions are included. The observed apparent intermittency signal is the result of the correlated proton pairs with small relative transverse momentum Δpt, which would be enhanced by hadronic potentials, and this correlation between the protons is slightly influenced by the coalescence parameters and the relative invariant four-momentum qinv cut.
The thermal fit to preliminary HADES data of Au+Au collisions at sNN=2.4 GeV shows two degenerate solutions at T≈50 MeV and T≈70 MeV. The analysis of the same particle yields in a transport simulation of the UrQMD model yields the same features, i.e. two distinct temperatures for the chemical freeze-out. While both solutions yield the same number of hadrons after resonance decays, the feeddown contribution is very different for both cases. This highlights that two systems with different chemical composition can yield the same multiplicities after resonance decays. The nature of these two minima is further investigated by studying the time-dependent particle yields and extracted thermodynamic properties of the UrQMD model. It is confirmed, that the evolution of the high temperature solution resembles cooling and expansion of a hot and dense fireball. The low temperature solution displays an unphysical evolution: heating and compression of matter with a decrease of entropy. These results imply that the thermal model analysis of systems produced in low energy nuclear collisions is ambiguous but can be interpreted by taking also the time evolution and resonance contributions into account.
Using data samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring at center-of-mass energies from 4.178 to 4.600 GeV, we study the process eþe− → π0Xð3872Þγ and search for Zcð4020Þ0 → Xð3872Þγ. We find no significant signal and set upper limits on σðeþe− → π0Xð3872ÞγÞ · BðXð3872Þ → πþπ−J=ψÞ and σðeþe− → π0Zcð4020Þ0Þ · BðZcð4020Þ0 → Xð3872ÞγÞ · BðXð3872Þ → πþπ−J=ψÞ for each energy point at 90% confidence level, which is of the order of several tenths pb.
We measure the inclusive semielectronic decay branching fraction of the D+s meson. A double-tag technique is applied to e+e− annihilation data collected by the BESIII experiment at the BEPCII collider, operating in the center-of-mass energy range 4.178–4.230 GeV. We select positrons fromD+s→Xe+νe with momenta greater than 200 MeV/c and determine the laboratory momentum spectrum, accounting for the effects of detector efficiency and resolution. The total positron yield and semielectronic branching fraction are determined by extrapolating this spectrum below the momentum cutoff. We measure the D+s semielectronic branching fraction to be(6.30±0.13(stat.)±0.09(syst.)±0.04(ext.))%, showing no evidence for unobserved exclusive semielectronic modes. We combine this result with external data taken from literature to determine the ratio of the D+s and D0 semielectronic widths, Γ(D+s→Xe+νe)Γ(D0→Xe+νe)=0.790±0.016(stat.)±0.011(syst.)±0.016(ext.). Our results are consistent with and more precise than previous measurements.
Correlations between moments of different flow coefficients are measured in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02TeV recorded with the ALICE detector. These new measurements are based on multiparticle mixed harmonic cumulants calculated using charged particles in the pseudorapidity region |η| <0.8with the transverse momentum range 0.2 <pT<5.0GeV/c. The centrality dependence of correlations between two flow coefficients as well as the correlations between three flow coefficients, both in terms of their second moments, are shown. In addition, a collection of mixed harmonic cumulants involving higher moments of v2and v3is measured for the first time, where the characteristic signature of negative, positive and negative signs of four-, six-and eight-particle cumulants are observed, respectively. The measurements are compared to the hydrodynamic calculations using iEBE-VISHNU with AMPT and TRENTo initial conditions. It is shown that the measurements carried out using the LHC Run 2 data in 2015 have the precision to explore the details of initial-state fluctuations and probe the nonlinear hydrodynamic response of v2and v3to their corresponding initial anisotropy coefficients ε2and ε3. These new studies on correlations between three flow coefficients as well as correlations between higher moments of two different flow coefficients will pave the way to tighten constraints on initial-state models and help to extract precise information on the dynamic evolution of the hot and dense matter created in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC.
When a very strong light field is applied to a molecule an electron can be ejected by tunneling. In order to quantify the time-resolved dynamics of this ionization process, the concept of the Wigner time delay can be used. The properties of this process can depend on the tunneling direction relative to the molecular axis. Here, we show experimental and theoretical data on the Wigner time delay for tunnel ionization of H2 molecules and demonstrate its dependence on the emission direction of the electron with respect to the molecular axis. We find, that the observed changes in the Wigner time delay can be quantitatively explained by elongated/shortened travel paths of the emitted electrons, which occur due to spatial shifts of the electrons’ birth positions after tunneling. Our work provides therefore an intuitive perspective towards the Wigner time delay in strong-field ionization.
Production of pions, kaons, (anti-)protons and φ mesons in Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV
(2021)
The first measurement of the production of pions, kaons, (anti-)protons and φ mesons at midrapidity in Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV is presented. Transverse momentum (pT) spectra and pT-integrated yields are extracted in several centrality intervals bridging from p–Pb to mid-central Pb–Pb collisions in terms of final-state multiplicity. The study of Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb collisions allows systems at similar charged-particle multiplicities but with different initial geometrical eccentricities to be investigated. A detailed comparison of the spectral shapes in the two systems reveals an opposite behaviour for radial and elliptic flow. In particular, this study shows that the radial flow does not depend on the colliding system when compared at similar charged-particle multiplicity. In terms of hadron chemistry, the previously observed smooth evolution of particle ratios with multiplicity from small to large collision systems is also found to hold in Xe–Xe. In addition, our results confirm that two remarkable features of particle production at LHC energies are also valid in the collision of medium-sized nuclei: the lower proton-to-pion ratio with respect to the thermal model expectations and the increase of the φ-to-pion ratio with increasing final-state multiplicity.
Themultiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidity density of charged particles in proton–proton (pp) collisions at centre-of-mass energies √s = 5.02, 7 and 13 TeV measured by ALICE is reported. The analysis relies on track segments measured in the midrapidity range (|η| < 1.5). Results are presented for inelastic events having at least one charged particle produced in the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 1. The multiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidity density of charged particles is measured with mid- and forward rapidity multiplicity estimators, the latter being less affected by autocorrelations.Adetailed comparison with predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC event generators is also presented. The results can be used to constrain models for particle production as a function of multiplicity in pp collisions.
The absolute-scale electronic energetics of liquid water and aqueous solutions, both in the bulk and at associated interfaces, are the central determiners of water-based chemistry. However, such information is generally experimentally inaccessible. Here we demonstrate that a refined implementation of the liquid microjet photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) technique can be adopted to address this. Implementing concepts from condensed matter physics, we establish novel all-liquid-phase vacuum and equilibrated solution–metal-electrode Fermi level referencing procedures. This enables the precise and accurate determination of previously elusive water solvent and solute vertical ionization energies, VIEs. Notably, this includes quantification of solute-induced perturbations of water's electronic energetics and VIE definition on an absolute and universal chemical potential scale. Defining and applying these procedures over a broad range of ionization energies, we accurately and respectively determine the VIE and oxidative stability of liquid water as 11.33 ± 0.03 eV and 6.60 ± 0.08 eV with respect to its liquid-vacuum-interface potential and Fermi level. Combining our referencing schemes, we accurately determine the work function of liquid water as 4.73 ± 0.09 eV. Further, applying our novel approach to a pair of exemplary aqueous solutions, we extract absolute VIEs of aqueous iodide anions, reaffirm the robustness of liquid water's electronic structure to high bulk salt concentrations (2 M sodium iodide), and quantify reference-level dependent reductions of water's VIE and a 0.48 ± 0.13 eV contraction of the solution's work function upon partial hydration of a known surfactant (25 mM tetrabutylammonium iodide). Our combined experimental accomplishments mark a major advance in our ability to quantify electronic–structure interactions and chemical reactivity in liquid water, which now explicitly extends to the measurement of absolute-scale bulk and interfacial solution energetics, including those of relevance to aqueous electrochemical processes.
Classical light microscopy is one of the main tools for science to study small things. Microscopes and their technology and optics have been developed and improved over centuries, however their resolution is ultimately restricted physically by the diffraction of light based on its wave nature described by Maxwell’s equations. Hence, the nanoworld – often characterized by sub-100-nm structural sizes – is not accessible with classical far-field optics (apart from special x-ray laser concepts) since its lateral resolution scales with the wavelength.
It was not until the 20th century that various technologies emerged to circumvent the diffraction limit, including so-called near-field microscopy. Although conceptually based on Maxwell’s long known equations, it took a long time for the scientific community to recognize its powerful opportunities and the first embodiments of near-field microscopes were developed. One representative of them is the scattering-type Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope (s-SNOM). It is a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) that enables imaging and spectroscopy at visible light frequencies down to even radio waves with a sub-100-nm resolution regardless of the wavelength used. This work also reflects this wide spectral range as it contains applications from near-infrared light down to deep THz/GHz radiation.
This thesis is subdivided into two parts. First, new experimental capabilities for the s-SNOM are demonstrated and evaluated in a more technical manner. Second, among other things, these capabilities are used to study various transport phenomena in solids, as already indicated in the title.
On the technical side, preliminary studies on the suitability of the qPlus sensor – a novel scanning probe technology – for near-field microscopy are presented.
The scanning head incorporating the qPlus sensor–named TRIBUS – is originally intended and built for ultra-high vacuum, low temperature, and high resolution applications. These are desirable environments and properties for sensitive nearfield measurements as well. However, since its design was not planned for near-field measurements, several special technical and optical aspects have to be taken into account, among others the scanning tip design and a spring suspended measurement head.
In addition, in this thesis field-effect transistors are used as THz detectors in an s-SNOM for the first time. Although THz s-SNOM is already an emerging technology, it still suffers from the requirements of sophisticated and specialized infrastructure on both the detector and laser side. Field-effect transistors offer an alternative that is flexible, cost-efficient, room-temperature operating, and easy to handle. Here, their suitability for s-SNOM measurements, which in general require very sensitive and fast detectors, is evaluated.
In the scientific part of this thesis, electromagnetic surface waves on silver nanowires and the conductivity/charge carrier density in silicon are investigated. Both are completely different concepts of transport phenomena, but this already shows the general versatility of the s-SNOM as it can enter both fields. Silver nanowires are analysed by means of near-infrared radiation. Their plasmonic behaviour in this spectral region is studied complementing other simulations and studies in literature performed on them using for example far-field optics.
Furthermore, the surface wave imaging ability of the s-SNOM in the near-infrared regime is thoroughly investigated in this thesis. Mapping surface waves in the mid-infrared regime is widespread in the community, however for much smaller wavelengths there are several important aspects to be considered additionally, such as the smaller focal spot size.
After that, doped and photo-excited silicon substrates are investigated. As the characteristic frequencies of charge carriers in semiconductors – described by the plasma frequency and the Drude model – are within the THz range, the THz s-SNOM is very well suited to probe their behaviour and to reveal contrasts, which has already been shown qualitatively by numerous literature reports. Here, the photo-excitation enables to set and tune the charge carrier density continuously.
Furthermore, the analysis of all silicon samples focuses on a quantitative extraction of the charge carrier densities and doping levels ...
We investigate general properties of the eigenvalue spectrum for improved staggered quarks. We introduce a new chirality operator [y5⊗1] and a new shift operator [1⊗ξ5], which respect the same recursion relation as the γ5 operator in the continuum. Then we show that matrix elements of the chirality operator sandwiched between two eigenstates of the staggered Dirac operator are related to those of the shift operator by the Ward identity of the conserved U (1)A symmetry of staggered fermion actions. We perform a numerical study in quenched QCD using HYP staggered quarks to demonstrate the Ward identity. We introduce a new concept of leakage patterns which collectively represent the matrix elements of the chirality operator and the shift operator sandwiched between two eigenstates of the staggered Dirac operator. The leakage pattern provides a new method to identify zero modes and nonzero modes in the Dirac eigenvalue spectrum. This method is as robust as the spectral flow method but requires much less computing power. Analysis using a machine learning technique confirms that the leakage pattern is universal, since the staggered Dirac eigenmodes on normal gauge configurations respect it. In addition, the leakage pattern can be used to determine a ratio of renormalization factors as a by-product. We conclude that it might be possible and realistic to measure the topological charge Q using the Atiya-Singer index theorem and the leakage pattern of the chirality operator in the staggered fermion formalism.
We derive the collision term in the Boltzmann equation using the equation of motion for the Wigner function of massive spin-1/2 particles. To next-to-lowest order in h, it contains a nonlocal contribution, which is responsible for the conversion of orbital into spin angular momentum. In a proper choice of pseudogauge, the antisymmetric part of the energy-momentum tensor arises solely from this nonlocal contribution. We show that the collision term vanishes in global equilibrium and that the spin potential is, then, equal to the thermal vorticity. In the nonrelativistic limit, the equations of motion for the energy-momentum and spin tensors reduce to the well-known form for hydrodynamics for micropolar fluids.
During infection the SARS-CoV-2 virus fuses its viral envelope with cellular membranes of its human host. The viral spike (S) protein mediates both the initial contact with the host cell and the subsequent membrane fusion. Proteolytic cleavage of S at the S2′ site exposes its fusion peptide (FP) as the new N-terminus. By binding to the host membrane, the FP anchors the virus to the host cell. The reorganization of S2 between virus and host then pulls the two membranes together. Here we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the two core functions of the SARS-CoV-2 FP: to attach quickly to cellular membranes and to form an anchor strong enough to withstand the mechanical force during membrane fusion. In eight 10 μs long MD simulations of FP in proximity to endosomal and plasma membranes, we find that FP binds spontaneously to the membranes and that binding proceeds predominantly by insertion of two short amphipathic helices into the membrane interface. Connected via a flexible linker, the two helices can bind the membrane independently, yet binding of one promotes the binding of the other by tethering it close to the target membrane. By simulating mechanical pulling forces acting on the C-terminus of the FP, we then show that the bound FP can bear forces up to 250 pN before detaching from the membrane. This detachment force is more than 10-fold higher than an estimate of the force required to pull host and viral membranes together for fusion. We identify a fully conserved disulfide bridge in the FP as a major factor for the high mechanical stability of the FP membrane anchor. We conclude, first, that the sequential binding of two short amphipathic helices allows the SARS-CoV-2 FP to insert quickly into the target membrane, before the virion is swept away after shedding the S1 domain connecting it to the host cell receptor. Second, we conclude that the double attachment and the conserved disulfide bridge establish the strong anchoring required for subsequent membrane fusion. Multiple distinct membrane-anchoring elements ensure high avidity and high mechanical strength of FP–membrane binding.
Quantum discontinuity fixed point and renormalization group flow of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model
(2021)
We determine the global renormalization group (RG) flow of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. From a controlled truncation of the infinite hierarchy of the exact functional RG flow equations, we identify several fixed points. Apart from a stable fixed point, associated with the celebrated non-Fermi liquid state of the model, we find another stable fixed point related to an integer-valence state. These stable fixed points are separated by a discontinuity fixed point with one relevant direction, describing a quantum first-order transition. Most notably, the fermionic spectrum continues to be quantum critical even at the discontinuity fixed point. This rules out a description of the transition in terms of a local effective Ising variable as is established for classical transitions. We propose an entangled quantum state at phase coexistence as a possible physical origin of this critical behavior.
Famotidine inhibits toll-like receptor 3-mediated inflammatory signaling in SARS-CoV-2 infection
(2021)
Apart from prevention using vaccinations, the management options for COVID-19 remain limited. In retrospective cohort studies, use of famotidine, a specific oral H2 receptor antagonist (antihistamine), has been associated with reduced risk of intubation and death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. In a case series, nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 experienced rapid symptom resolution after taking famotidine, but the molecular basis of these observations remains elusive. Here we show using biochemical, cellular, and functional assays that famotidine has no effect on viral replication or viral protease activity. However, famotidine can affect histamine-induced signaling processes in infected Caco2 cells. Specifically, famotidine treatment inhibits histamine-induced expression of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells and can reduce TLR3-dependent signaling processes that culminate in activation of IRF3 and the NF-κB pathway, subsequently controlling antiviral and inflammatory responses. SARS-CoV-2-infected cells treated with famotidine demonstrate reduced expression levels of the inflammatory mediators CCL-2 and IL6, drivers of the cytokine release syndrome that precipitates poor outcome for patients with COVID-19. Given that pharmacokinetic studies indicate that famotidine can reach concentrations in blood that suffice to antagonize histamine H2 receptors expressed in mast cells, neutrophils, and eosinophils, these observations explain how famotidine may contribute to the reduced histamine-induced inflammation and cytokine release, thereby improving the outcome for patients with COVID-19.
HbA1c is the gold standard test for monitoring medium/long term glycemia conditions in diabetes care, which is a critical factor in reducing the risk of chronic diabetes complications. Current technologies for measuring HbA1c concentration are invasive and adequate assays are still limited to laboratory-based methods that are not widely available worldwide. The development of a non-invasive diagnostic tool for HbA1c concentration can lead to the decrease of the rate of undiagnosed cases and facilitate early detection in diabetes care. We present a preliminary validation diagnostic study of W-band spectroscopy for detection and monitoring of sustained hyperglycemia, using the HbA1c concentration as reference. A group of 20 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and 10 healthy subjects were non-invasively assessed at three different visits over a period of 7 months by a millimeter-wave spectrometer (transmission mode) operating across the full W-band. The relationship between the W-band spectral profile and the HbA1c concentration is studied using longitudinal and non-longitudinal functional data analysis methods. A potential blind discrimination between patients with or without diabetes is obtained, and more importantly, an excellent relation (R-squared = 0.97) between the non-invasive assessment and the HbA1c measure is achieved. Such results support that W-band spectroscopy has great potential for developing a non-invasive diagnostic tool for in-vivo HbA1c concentration monitoring in humans.
In this letter we report the first multi-differential measurement of correlated pion-proton pairs from 2 billion Au+Au collisions at sNN=2.42 GeV collected with HADES. In this energy regime the population of Δ(1232) resonances plays an important role in the way energy is distributed between intrinsic excitation energy and kinetic energy of the hadrons in the fireball. The triple differential d3N/dMπ±pdpTdy distributions of correlated π±p pairs have been determined by subtracting the πp combinatorial background using an iterative method. The invariant-mass distributions in the Δ(1232) mass region show strong deviations from a Breit-Wigner function with vacuum width and mass. The yield of correlated pion-proton pairs exhibits a complex isospin, rapidity and transverse-momentum dependence. In the invariant mass range 1.1<Minv(GeV/c2)<1.4, the yield is found to be similar for π+p and π−p pairs, and to follow a power law 〈Apart〉α, where 〈Apart〉 is the mean number of participating nucleons. The exponent α depends strongly on the pair transverse momentum (pT) while its pT-integrated and charge-averaged value is α=1.5±0.08st±0.2sy.
For a long time, strong coupling expansions have not been applied systematically in lattice QCD thermodynamics, in view of the success of numerical Monte Carlo studies. The persistent sign problem at finite baryo-chemical potential, however, has motivated investigations using these methods, either by themselves or combined with numerical evaluations, as a route to finite density physics. This article reviews the strategies, by which a number of qualitative insights have been attained, notably the emergence of the hadron resonance gas or the identification of the onset transition to baryon matter in specific regions of the QCD parameter space. For the simpler case of Yang–Mills theory, the deconfinement transition can be determined quantitatively even in the scaling region, showing possible prospects for continuum physics.
We examine the thermodynamic behavior of a static neutral regular (non-singular) black hole enclosed in a finite isothermal cavity. The cavity enclosure helps us investigate black hole systems in a canonical or a grand canonical ensemble. Here we demonstrate the derivation of the reduced action for the general metric of a regular black hole in a cavity by considering a canonical ensemble. The new expression of the action contains quantum corrections at short distances and concludes to the action of a singular black hole in a cavity at large distances. We apply this formalism to the noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole, in order to study the phase structure of the system. We conclude to a possible small/large stable regular black hole transition inside the cavity that exists neither at the system of a classical Schwarzschild black hole in a cavity, nor at the asymptotically flat regular black hole without the cavity. This phase transition seems to be similar with the liquid/gas transition of a Van der Waals gas.
We study the diffusion properties of the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) and evaluate the diffusion coefficient matrix for the baryon (B), strange (S) and electric (Q) charges—κqq′ (q,q′=B,S,Q) and show their dependence on temperature T and baryon chemical potential μB. The nonperturbative nature of the sQGP is evaluated within the dynamical quasiparticle model (DQPM) which is matched to reproduce the equation of state of the partonic matter above the deconfinement temperature Tc from lattice QCD. The calculation of diffusion coefficients is based on two methods: (i) the Chapman-Enskog method for the linearized Boltzmann equation, which allows to explore nonequilibrium corrections for the phase-space distribution function in leading order of the Knudsen numbers as well as (ii) the relaxation time approximation (RTA). In this work we explore the differences between the two methods. We find a good agreement with the available lattice QCD data in case of the electric charge diffusion coefficient (or electric conductivity) at vanishing baryon chemical potential as well as a qualitative agreement with the recent predictions from the holographic approach for all diagonal components of the diffusion coefficient matrix. The knowledge of the diffusion coefficient matrix is also of special interest for more accurate hydrodynamic simulations.
The present research in high energy physics as well as in the nuclear physics requires the use of more powerful and complex particle accelerators to provide high luminosity, high intensity, and high brightness beams to experiments. With the increased technological complexity of accelerators, meeting the demand of experimenters necessitates a blend of accelerator physics with technology. The problem becomes severe when optimization of beam quality has to be provided in accelerator systems with thousands of free parameters including strengths of quadrupoles, sextupoles, RF voltages, etc. Machine learning methods and concepts of artificial intelligence are considered in various industry and scientific branches, and recently, these methods are used in high energy physics mainly for experiments data analysis.
In Accelerator Physics the machine learning approach has not found a wide application yet, and in general the use of these methods is carried out without a deep understanding on their effectiveness with respect to more traditional schemes or other alternative approaches. The purpose of this PhD research is to investigate the methods of machine learning applied to accelerator optimization, accelerator control and in particular on optics measurements and corrections. Optics correction, maximization of acceptance, and simultaneous control of various accelerator components such as focusing magnets is a typical accelerator scenario. The effectiven- ess of machine learning methods in a complex system such as the Large Hadron Collider, which beam dynamics exhibits nonlinear response to machine settings is the core of the study. This work presents successful application of several machine learning techniques such as clustering, decision trees, linear multivariate models and neural networks to beam optics measurements and corrections at the LHC, providing the guidelines for incorporation of machine learning techniques into accelerator operation and discussing future opportunities and potential work in this field.
The main subject of this thesis is the study of hadron and photon production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions by means of hydrodynamics+transport approaches. Two different kinds of such hybrid approaches are employed in this work, the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid and a MUSIC+SMASH hybrid. While the former is capable of simulating heavy-ion collisions covering a wide range of collision energies down to √s = 4.3 GeV, reproducing the correct baryon stopping powers, the latter provides a framework to consistently model photon production in the hadronic stage of high-energy heavy-ion collisions.
The SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid is a novel state-of-the-art hybrid approach whose development constitutes a major contribution to this thesis. It couples the hadronic transport SMASH to the 3+1D viscous hydrodynamics approach vHLLE. Therein, SMASH is employed to provide the fluctuating 3D initial conditions and to model the late hadronic rescattering stage, and vHLLE for the fluid dynamical evolution of the hot and dense fireball. The initial conditions are provided on a hypersurface of constant proper time, and the macroscopic evolution of the fireball is carried out down to an energy density of ecrit = 0.5 GeV/fm3, where particlization occurs. Consistency at the interfaces is verified in view of global, on-average quantum number conservation and the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid is validated by comparison to SMASH+CLVisc as well as UrQMD+vHLLE hybrid approaches. The establishment of the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid to theoretically describe heavy-ion collisions at intermediate and high collision energies forms a basis for a range of extensions and future research projects. It is further made available to the heavy-ion community by virtue of being published on Github.
The SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid is applied to simulate Au+Au/Pb+Pb collisions between √s = 4.3 GeV and √s = 200.0 GeV. A good agreement with the experimentally measured rapidity and transverse mass spectra is obtained. In particular the baryon stopping dynamics are well reproduced at low, intermediate, and high collision energies. Excitation functions for the mid-rapidity yield and mean transverse momentum of pions, protons and kaons are demonstrated to agree well with their experimentally measured counterpart. These results further validate the approach and provide a solid baseline for potential future studies. The importance of annihilations and regenerations of protons and anti-protons is additionally investigated in Au+Au/Pb+Pb collisions between √s = 17.3 GeV and √s = 5.02 TeV with the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid. It is found that, regarding the p + p ̄ ↔ 5 π reaction, 20-50% (depending on the rapidity range) of the (anti-)proton yield lost to annihila- tions in the hadronic rescattering stage is restored owing to the back reaction. The back reaction thus constitutes a non-negligible contribution to the final (anti-)proton yield and should not be neglected when modelling the late rescattering stage of heavy-ion collisions.
The MUSIC+SMASH hybrid is a hybrid approach ideally suited to model the production of photons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Therein, the macroscopic production of photons in the hadronic stage in MUSIC relies on the identical effective field theories as the photon cross sections implemented in SMASH for the microscopic production. The MUSIC+SMASH hybrid thus provides the first consistent framework to the end of hadronic photon production. It accounts for 2 → 2 scattering processes of the kind π + ρ → π + γ and pion bremsstrahlung processes π + π → π + π + γ. The MUSIC+SMASH hybrid is employed in an ideal 2D setup to systematically assess the importance of non-equliibrium dynamics in the hadronic rescattering stage on mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra and elliptic flow of photons at RHIC/LHC energies. This is achieved by comparing the outcome of the MUSIC+SMASH hybrid, involving an out-of-equilibrium late rescattering stage, to macroscopically approximating late stage photon production by means of MUSIC, employed down to temperatures well below the switching temperature. It is found that non-equilibrium dynamics have only minor implications for photon transverse momentum spectra, but significantly enhance the photon elliptic flow. At RHIC energies, an enhancement of up to 70%, and at LHC of up to 65% is observed in the non-equilibrium afterburner as compared to its hydrodynamical counterpart. In combination with the large amount of photons produced above the particlization temperature, these differences are modest regarding the transverse momentum spectra, but a significant enhancement of the elliptic flow is observed at low transverse momenta. Below pT ≈ 1.4 GeV, the combined v2 is enhanced by up to 30% at RHIC, and up to 20% at the LHC within the non-equilibrium setup as compared to its approximation via hydrodynamics. Non-equilibrium dynamics in the hadronic rescattering stage are hence important, especially in view of momentum anisotropies at low transverse momenta. These findings thus contribute to the understanding of low-pT photons produced in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC/LHC energies and the MUSIC+SMASH hybrid employed for this study provides a baseline for additional studies regarding photon production in the future.
To summarize, the approaches and frameworks presented in this thesis provide a good baseline for further extensions and studies in order to improve the understanding of hadron and photon production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions across a wide range of collision energies. More broadly, such future studies of hadrons and photons may contribute to enhance the understandig of the properties of the fundamental building blocks of matter, of which everything that surrounds us is made of.
Stationarity of the constituents of the body and of its functionalities is a basic requirement for life, being equivalent to survival in first place. Assuming that the resting state activity of the brain serves essential functionalities, stationarity entails that the dynamics of the brain needs to be regulated on a time-averaged basis. The combination of recurrent and driving external inputs must therefore lead to a non-trivial stationary neural activity, a condition which is fulfiled for afferent signals of varying strengths only close to criticality. In this view, the benefits of working in the vicinity of a second-order phase transition, such as signal enhancements, are not the underlying evolutionary drivers, but side effects of the requirement to keep the brain functional in first place. It is hence more appropriate to use the term 'self-regulated' in this context, instead of 'self-organized'.
Liquid-jet photoelectron spectroscopy was applied to determine the first acid dissociation constant (pKa) of aqueous-phase glucose while simultaneously identifying the spectroscopic signature of the respective deprotonation site. Valence spectra from solutions at pH values below and above the first pKa reveal a change in glucose’s lowest ionization energy upon the deprotonation of neutral glucose and the subsequent emergence of its anionic counterpart. Site-specific insights into the solution-pH-dependent molecular structure changes are also shown to be accessible via C 1s photoelectron spectroscopy. The spectra reveal a considerably lower C 1s binding energy of the carbon site associated with the deprotonated hydroxyl group. The occurrence of photoelectron spectral fingerprints of cyclic and linear glucose prior to and upon deprotonation are also discussed. The experimental data are interpreted with the aid of electronic structure calculations. Our findings highlight the potential of liquid-jet photoelectron spectroscopy to act as a site-selective probe of the molecular structures that underpin the acid–base chemistry of polyprotic systems with relevance to environmental chemistry and biochemistry.
The putative effects of dark matter are most easily explained by a collisionless fluid on cosmological scales and by Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) on galactic scales. Hybrid MOND dark matter models combine the successes of dark matter on cosmological scales and those of MOND on galactic scales. An example of such a model is superfluid dark matter (SFDM) which postulates that this differing behavior with scale is caused by a single underlying substance with two phases. In this thesis, I highlight successful observational tests of SFDM regarding strong lensing and the Milky Way rotation curve. I also discuss three problems due to the double role of the aforementioned single underlying substance and show how these may be avoided. Finally, I introduce a novel Cherenkov radiation constraint for hybrid MOND dark matter models. This constraint is different from standard modified gravity Cherenkov radiation constraints because such hybrid models allow even non-relativistic objects like stars to emit Cherenkov radiation.
Das Feld der Hochenergie-Schwerionenforschung hat sich der Untersuchung des Quark-Gluon-Plasmas (QGP) gewidmet. Ein QGP ist ein sehr heißer und dichter Materiezustand, der kurz nach dem Urknall für einige Mikrosekunden das Universum füllte. Unter diesen extremen Bedingungen sind die fundamentalen Bausteine der Materie, die Quarks und Gluonen, quasi frei, also nicht in Hadronen eingeschlossen, wie es unter normalen Bedingungen der Fall ist. Hadronen sind Teilchen, die aus Quarks und Gluonen bestehen. Die bekanntesten Hadronen sind Protonen und Neutronen, die Bestandteile von Atomkernen, aus denen, zusammen mit Elektronen, die gesamte bekannte Materie aufgebaut ist.
Um ein QGP im Labor zu erzeugen, lässt man ultrarelativistische schwere Ionen, wie zum Beispiel Pb-208-Kerne, aufeinander prallen. Dies geschieht am CERN, dem größten Kernforschungszentrum der Welt. Der Teilchenbeschleuniger, welcher Protonen und Pb-Kerne beschleunigt und zur Kollision bringt, heißt Large Hadron Collider (LHC) und ist mit 27 km Umfang der größte der Welt. Bei einer einzigen Pb-Pb Kollision am LHC werden mehrere Tausend Teilchen und Antiteilchen erzeugt. Das dedizierte Experiment zur Untersuchung von Schwerionenkollisionen am LHC ist ALICE. ALICE ist mit mehreren Teilchendetektoren ausgerüstet, die es ermöglichen, tausende Teilchen gleichzeitig zu messen und zu identifizieren.
Unter den produzierten Teilchen befinden sich auch leichte Atomkerne, wenngleich diese nur sehr selten erzeugt werden. Die Anzahl der produzierten Teilchen pro Teilchensorte hängt nämlich von deren Masse ab. In Pb-Pb Kollisionen am LHC sinkt die Anzahl der produzierten (Anti)kerne exponentiell um einen Faktor 1/330 bei Hinzufügen jedes weiteren Nukleons. Die Menge an produzierten Teilchen pro Spezies stellt Informationen über den Produktionsmechanismus beim Übergang vom QGP zum Hadrongas zur Verfügung. Hierbei sind leichte (Anti)kerne von besonderem Interesse, da sie vergleichsweise groß sind und ihre Bindungsenergie bis zu zwei Größenordnungen kleiner ist als die Temperaturen, die bei der Erzeugung der Hadronen vorherrschen. Es ist bis heute noch nicht verstanden, wie leichte (Anti)kerne bei diesen Bedingungen erzeugt werden und überleben können.
Für diese Arbeit wurden ca. 270 Millionen Pb-Pb Kollisionen bei einer Schwerpunktsenergie von 5,02 TeV, die von ALICE im November 2018 aufgezeichnet wurden, analysiert. Es wurde die Produktion von (Anti)triton und (Anti)alpha untersucht. Wegen ihrer großen Masse werden beide Kerne sehr selten produziert, bei weitem nicht bei jeder Kollision. Antialpha ist der schwerste Antikern, der jemals gemessen wurde. Aufgrund dieser Seltenheit ist die Größe des zur Verfügung stehenden Datensatzes entscheidend. Es war möglich, das erste jemals gemessene Antialpha-Transversalimpulsspektrum zu extrahieren. Auch für (Anti)triton und Alpha wurden Transversalimpulsspektren bestimmt.
Die Ergebnisse wurden mit theoretischen Modellen und anderen ALICE Messungen verglichen.
Am Ende wird in einem Ausblick auf das kürzlich durchgeführte Upgrade der ALICE Spurendriftkammer (TPC) eingegangen. In der nächsten, bald startenden Datennahmeperiode wird der LHC seine Kollisionsrate erheblich erhöhen, was es ermöglichen wird, mehr als 100 mal so viele Daten wie bisher aufzuzeichnen. Hiervon werden die in dieser Arbeit beschriebenen (Anti)triton- und (Anti)alpha-Analysen beachtlich profitieren. Um mit den erheblich höheren Kollisionsraten zurecht zu kommen, mussten einige Detektoren, unter anderem die TPC, maßgeblich erneuert werden. In den ersten beiden Datennahmeperioden wurde die TPC mit Vieldrahtproportionalkammern betrieben. Diese sind allerdings viel zu langsam für die geplanten Kollisionsraten. Deshalb wurden sie im Jahr 2019, während einer langen Betriebspause des LHC, durch Quadrupel-GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) Folien basierte Auslesekammern ersetzt, welche eine kontinuierliche Auslese der TPC ermöglichen. Da es sich um die erste jemals gebaute GEM TPC im Großformat handelt, war ein umfangreiches Forschungs- und Entwicklungs- (F&E) Programm notwendig, um die GEM Auslesekammern zu charakterisieren und zu testen. Im Rahmen dieses F&E Programms wurden am Anfang dieser Promotion systematische Messungen an einer kleinen Test TPC mit Quadrupel-GEM Auslese, die extra zu diesem Zweck gebaut worden war, durchgeführt. Hierbei wurde der Rückfluss der bei der Gasverstärkung erzeugten Ionen in das Driftvolumen der TPC und die Energieauflösung mit verschiedenen GEM Folien Typen und unterschiedlicher Anordnung gemessen. Das Ziel war, möglichst kleine Ionenrückflüsse bei möglichst guter Energieauflösung zu erreichen. Hierbei musste ein Kompromiss gefunden werden, da die beiden Größen sich gegenläufig verhalten. Es war jedoch möglich, mit mehreren GEM Konfigurationen Spannungseinstellungen zu identifizieren, bei denen beide Größen den gewünschten Anforderungen entsprachen.
The QCD phase-diagram is studied, at finite magnetic field. Our calculations are based on the QCD effective model, the SU(3) Polyakov linear-sigma model (PLSM), in which the chiral symmetry is integrated in the hadron phase and in the parton phase, the up-, down- and strange-quark degrees of freedom are incorporated besides the inclusion of Polyakov loop potentials in the pure gauge limit, which are motivated by various underlying QCD symmetries. The Landau quantization and the magnetic catalysis are implemented. The response of the QCD matter to an external magnetic field such as magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and permeability has been estimated. We conclude that the parton phase has higher values of magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, and permeability relative to the hadron phase. Depending on the contributions to the Landau levels, we conclude that the chiral magnetic field enhances the chiral quark condensates and hence the chiral QCD phase-diagram, i.e. the hadron-parton phase-transition likely takes place, at lower critical temperatures and chemical potentials.