Measurement of event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations using strongly intensive measures Δ[PT, N] and Σ[PT, N] in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Results from the NA49 experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) are presented on event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations of charged particles, produced at forward rapidities in central Pb + Pb interactions at beam momenta 20A, 30A, 40A, 80A, and 158A GeV/c, as well as in systems of different sizes (p + p, C + C, Si + Si, and Pb Pb) at 158A GeV/c. This publication extends the previous NA49 measurements of the strongly intensive measure Phi(PT) by a study of the recently proposed strongly intensive measures of fluctuations Delta [P-T, N] and Sigma[P-T, N]. In the explored kinematic region transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations show no significant energy dependence in the SPS energy range. However, a remarkable system size dependence is observed for both Delta[P-T, N] and Sigma[P-T, N], with the largest values measured in peripheral Pb + Pb interactions. The results are compared with NA61/SHINE (SPS Heavy Ion and Neutrino Experiment) measurements in p + p collisions, as well as with predictions of The Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics and EPOS models

Phase-space dependence of particle-ratio fluctuations in Pb plus Pb collisions from 20A to 158A GeV beam energy

A novel approach, the identity method, was used for particle identification and the study of fluctuations of particle yield ratios in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). This procedure allows to unfold the moments of the unknown multiplicity distributions of protons (p), kaons (K), pions (π) and electrons (e). Using these moments the excitation function of the fluctuation measure ν\text{;dyn};[A, B] was measured, with A and B denoting different particle types. The obtained energy dependence of νdyn agrees with previously published NA49 results on the related measure σdyn. Moreover, νdyn was found to depend on the phase space coverage for [K, p] and [K, π] pairs. This feature most likely explains the reported differences between measurements of NA49 and those of STAR in central Au+Au collisions

NA61/SHINE facility at the CERN SPS: beams and detector system

NA61/SHINE (SPS Heavy Ion and Neutrino Experiment) is a multi-purpose experi- mental facility to study hadron production in hadron-proton, hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. It recorded the first physics data with hadron beams in 2009 and with ion beams (secondary 7 Be beams) in 2011. NA61/SHINE has greatly profited from the long development of the CERN proton and ion sources and the accelerator chain as well as the H2 beamline of the CERN North Area. The latter has recently been modified to also serve as a fragment separator as needed to produce the Be beams for NA61/SHINE. Numerous components of the NA61/SHINE set-up were inherited from its predecessors, in particular, the last one, the NA49 experiment. Important new detectors and upgrades of the legacy equipment were introduced by the NA61/SHINE Collaboration. This paper describes the state of the NA61/SHINE facility — the beams and the detector system — before the CERN Long Shutdown I, which started in March 2013

Measurements of cross sections and charged pion spectra in proton-carbon interactions at 31 GeV/c

Interaction cross sections and charged pion spectra in p + C interactions at 31 GeV/c were measured with the large-acceptanceNA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. These data are required to improve predictions of the neutrino flux for the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A set of data collected during the first NA61/SHINE run in 2007 with an isotropic graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length was used for the analysis. The measured p + C inelastic and production cross sections are 257.2 ± 1.9 ± 8.9 and 229.3 ± 1.9 ± 9.0 mb, respectively. Inclusive production cross sections for negatively and positively charged pions are presented as functions of laboratory momentum in ten intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 up to 420 mrad. The spectra are compared with predictions of several hadron production models

First proton-proton collisions at the LHC as observed with the ALICE detector: measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density at sqrt(s) = 900 GeV

On 23rd November 2009, during the early commissioning of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), two counter-rotating proton bunches were circulated for the first time concurrently in the machine, at the LHC injection energy of 450 GeV per beam. Although the proton intensity was very low, with only one pilot bunch per beam, and no systematic attempt was made to optimize the collision optics, all LHC experiments reported a number of collision candidates. In the ALICE experiment, the collision region was centred very well in both the longitudinal and transverse directions and 284 events were recorded in coincidence with the two passing proton bunches. The events were immediately reconstructed and analyzed both online and offline. We have used these events to measure the pseudorapidity density of charged primary particles in the central region. In the range |eta| < 0.5, we obtain dNch/deta = 3.10+-0.13(stat.)+-0.22(syst) for all inelastic interactions, and dNch/deta = 3.51 +- 0.15(stat) +- 0.25(syst) for non-single diffractive interactions. These results are consistent with previous measurements in proton-antiproton interactions at the same centre-of-mass energy at the CERN SppS collider. They also illustrate the excellent functioning and rapid progress of the LHC accelerator, and of both the hardware and software of the ALICE experiment, in this early start-up phase

Measurement of negatively charged pion spectra in inelastic p+p interactions at plab = 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c

We present experimental results on inclusive spectra and mean multiplicities of negatively charged pions produced in inelastic p+p interactions at incident projectile momenta of 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158GeV/c ( √ s = 6.3, 7.7, 8.8, 12.3 and 17.3GeV, respectively). The measurements were performed using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN super proton synchrotron. Two-dimensional spectra are determined in terms of rapidity and transverse momentum. Their properties such as the width of rapidity distributions and the inverse slope parameter of transverse mass spectra are extracted and their collision energy dependences are presented. The results on inelastic p+p interactions are compared with the corresponding data on central Pb+Pb collisions measured by the NA49 experiment at theCERNSPS. The results presented in this paper are part of the NA61/SHINE ion program devoted to the study of the properties of the onset of deconfinement and search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter. They are required for interpretation of results on nucleus–nucleus and proton–nucleus collisions

Measurements of production properties of K0S mesons and Λ hyperons in proton-carbon interactions at 31 GeV/c

Spectra of K0S mesons and Λ hyperons were measured in p + C interactions at 31 GeV/c with the large acceptance NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The data were collected with an isotropic graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length. Interaction cross sections, charged pion spectra, and charged kaon spectra were previously measured using the same data set. Results on K0S and Λ production in p + C interactions serve as a reference for the understanding of the enhancement of strangeness production in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Moreover, they provide important input for the improvement of neutrino flux predictions for the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. Inclusive production cross sections for K0S and Λ are presented as a function of laboratory momentum in intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 up to 240 mrad. The results are compared with predictions of several hadron production models. The K0S mean multiplicity in production processes ⟨nK0S⟩ and the inclusive cross section for K0S production σK0S were measured and amount to 0.127 ± 0.005 (stat) ± 0.022 (sys) and 29.0 ± 1.6 (stat) ± 5.0 (sys) mb, respectively

Measurements of multiplicity fluctuations of identified hadrons in inelastic proton-proton interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Measurements of multiplicity fluctuations of identified hadrons produced in inelastic p+p interactions at 31, 40, 80, and 158 GeV/c beam momentum are presented. Three different measures of multiplicity fluctuations are used: the scaled variance ω and strongly intensive measures Σ and Δ. These fluctuation measures involve second and first moments of joint multiplicity distributions. Data analysis is preformed using the Identity method which corrects for incomplete particle identification. Strongly intensive quantities are calculated in order to allow for a direct comparison to corresponding results on nucleus–nucleus collisions. The results for different hadron types are shown as a function of collision energy. A comparison with predictions of string-resonance Monte-Carlo models: EPOS, SMASH and VENUS, is also presented

Interpretation of the depths of maximum of extensive air showers measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

To interpret the mean depth of cosmic ray air shower maximum and its dispersion, we parametrize those two observables as functions of the first two moments of the ln A distribution. We examine the goodness of this simple method through simulations of test mass distributions. The application of the parameterization to Pierre Auger Observatory data allows one to study the energy dependence of the mean ln A and of its variance under the assumption of selected hadronic interaction models. We discuss possible implications of these dependences in term of interaction models and astrophysical cosmic ray sources

The Pierre Auger Observatory scaler mode for the study of solar activity modulation of galactic cosmic rays

Since data-taking began in January 2004, the Pierre Auger Observatory has been recording the count rates of low energy secondary cosmic ray particles for the self-calibration of the ground detectors of its surface detector array. After correcting for atmospheric effects, modulations of galactic cosmic rays due to solar activity and transient events are observed. Temporal variations related with the activity of the heliosphere can be determined with high accuracy due to the high total count rates. In this study, the available data are presented together with an analysis focused on the observation of Forbush decreases, where a strong correlation with neutron monitor data is found