Vector meson production in the dimuon channel in the ALICE experiment at the LHC

The purpose of the ALICE experiment at the LHC is the study of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) formed in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, a state of matter in which quarks and gluons are deconfined. The properties of this state of strongly-interacting matter can be accessed through the study of light vector mesons ($\rho$, $\omega$ and $\phi$). Indeed, the strange quark content ($s\bar{s}$) of the $\phi$ meson makes its study interesting in connection with the strangeness enhancement observed in heavy-ion collisions. Moreover, $\rho$ and $\omega$ spectral function studies give information on chiral symmetry restoration. Vector meson production in pp collisions is important as a baseline for heavy-ion studies and for constraining hadronic models. We present results on light vector meson production obtained with the muon spectrometer of the ALICE experiment in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=7 TeV. Production ratios, integrated and differential cross sections for $\phi$ and $\omega$ are presented. Those results are extracted for $p_{\rm T} > 1$ GeV/$c$ and $2.5 < y < 4$

Feasibility studies for quarkonium production at a fixed-target experiment using the LHC proton and lead beams (AFTER@LHC)

Used in the fixed-target mode, the multi-TeV LHC proton and lead beams allow for studies of heavy-flavour hadroproduction with unprecedented precision at backward rapidities - far negative Feyman-x - using conventional detection techniques. At the nominal LHC energies, quarkonia can be studies in detail in p+p, p+d and p+A collisions at sqrt(s_NN) ~ 115 GeV as well as in Pb+p and Pb+A collisions at sqrt(s_NN) ~ 72 GeV with luminosities roughly equivalent to that of the collider mode, i.e. up to 20 fb-1 yr-1 in p+p and p+d collisions, up to 0.6 fb-1 yr-1 in p+A collisions and up to 10 nb-1 yr-1 in Pb+A collisions. In this paper, we assess the feasibility of such studies by performing fast simulations using the performance of a LHCb-like detector.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figure

Heavy-ion Physics at a Fixed-Target Experiment Using the LHC Proton and Lead Beams (AFTER@LHC): Feasibility Studies for Quarkonium and Drell-Yan Production

We outline the case for heavy-ion-physics studies using the multi-TeV lead LHC beams in the fixed-target mode. After a brief contextual reminder, we detail the possible contributions of AFTER@LHC to heavy-ion physics with a specific emphasis on quarkonia. We then present performance simulations for a selection of observables. These show that $\Upsilon(nS)$, $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ production in heavy-ion collisions can be studied in new energy and rapidity domains with the LHCb and ALICE detectors. We also discuss the relevance to analyse the Drell-Yan pair production in asymmetric nucleus-nucleus collisions to study the factorisation of the nuclear modification of partonic densities and of further quarkonia to restore their status of golden probes of the quark-gluon plasma formation.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Magnetic fields from reionisation

We present a complementary study to a new model for generating magnetic fields of cosmological interest. The driving mechanism is the photoionisation process by photons provided by the first luminous sources. Investigating the transient regime at the onset of inhomogeneous reionisation, we show that magnetic field amplitudes as high as $2 \times 10^{-16}$ Gauss can be obtained within a source lifetime. Photons with energies above the ionisation threshold accelerate electrons, inducing magnetic fields outside the Stroemgren spheres which surround the ionising sources. Thanks to their mean free path, photons with higher energies propagate further and lead to magnetic field generation deeper in the neutral medium. We find that soft X-ray photons could contribute to a significant premagnetisation of the intergalactic medium at a redshift of z=15.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Coherent J/ψ\psi photoproduction and polarization in peripheral Pb-Pb collisions with ALICE

Photonuclear reactions are induced by the strong electromagnetic field generated by ultrarelativistic heavy ions. These processes have been extensively studied in ultraperipheral collisions. In recent years, the observation of coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction has been claimed in nucleus-nucleus (A-A) collisions with nuclear overlap, based on the measurement of an excess in the very low transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) J/$\psi$ yield. Such quarkonium measurements can help constraining the nuclear gluon distribution at low Bjorken-$x$ and can shed light on the theory behind photon induced reactions in A-A collisions with nuclear overlap. In order to confirm the photoproduction origin of the very low-$p_{\rm T}$ J/$\psi$ yield excess, polarization measurement is a golden observable. It is indeed expected that the produced quarkonium would keep the polarization of the incoming photon due to $s$-channel helicity conservation. ALICE can measure inclusive and exclusive quarkonium production down to zero transverse momentum, at forward rapidity (2.5 $< y <$ 4) and midrapidity ($|y| <$ 0.9). In this contribution, we will report on the new preliminary measurement of the $y$-differential cross section and the first polarization analysis at LHC of coherently photoproduced J/$\psi$ in peripheral Pb-Pb collisions. Both measurements are conducted at forward rapidity in the dimuon decay channel.Comment: contribution to the 2024 QCD session of the 58th Rencontres de Morion

Heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in the LHC era: from proton-proton to heavy-ion collisions

This report reviews the study of open heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in high-energy hadronic collisions, as tools to investigate fundamental aspects of Quantum Chromodynamics, from the proton and nucleus structure at high energy to deconfinement and the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Emphasis is given to the lessons learnt from LHC Run 1 results, which are reviewed in a global picture with the results from SPS and RHIC at lower energies, as well as to the questions to be addressed in the future. The report covers heavy flavour and quarkonium production in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. This includes discussion of the effects of hot and cold strongly interacting matter, quarkonium photo-production in nucleus-nucleus collisions and perspectives on the study of heavy flavour and quarkonium with upgrades of existing experiments and new experiments. The report results from the activity of the SaporeGravis network of the I3 Hadron Physics programme of the European Union 7th Framework Programme

Study of charmonium production in b -hadron decays and first evidence for the decay Bs0

Using decays to φ-meson pairs, the inclusive production of charmonium states in b-hadron decays is studied with pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb−1, collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Denoting byBC ≡ B(b → C X) × B(C → φφ) the inclusive branching fraction of a b hadron to a charmonium state C that decays into a pair of φ mesons, ratios RC1C2 ≡ BC1 /BC2 are determined as Rχc0ηc(1S) = 0.147 ± 0.023 ± 0.011, Rχc1ηc(1S) =0.073 ± 0.016 ± 0.006, Rχc2ηc(1S) = 0.081 ± 0.013 ± 0.005,Rχc1 χc0 = 0.50 ± 0.11 ± 0.01, Rχc2 χc0 = 0.56 ± 0.10 ± 0.01and Rηc(2S)ηc(1S) = 0.040 ± 0.011 ± 0.004. Here and below the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.Upper limits at 90% confidence level for the inclusive production of X(3872), X(3915) and χc2(2P) states are obtained as RX(3872)χc1 < 0.34, RX(3915)χc0 < 0.12 andRχc2(2P)χc2 < 0.16. Differential cross-sections as a function of transverse momentum are measured for the ηc(1S) andχc states. The branching fraction of the decay B0s → φφφ is measured for the first time, B(B0s → φφφ) = (2.15±0.54±0.28±0.21B)×10−6. Here the third uncertainty is due to the branching fraction of the decay B0s → φφ, which is used for normalization. No evidence for intermediate resonances is seen. A preferentially transverse φ polarization is observed.The measurements allow the determination of the ratio of the branching fractions for the ηc(1S) decays to φφ and p p asB(ηc(1S)→ φφ)/B(ηc(1S)→ p p) = 1.79 ± 0.14 ± 0.32