Charged-particle production as a function of the relative transverse activity classifier in pp, p−-Pb, and Pb−-Pb collisions at the LHC

International audienceMeasurements 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 ($p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}$) in the range $8<p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}<15$ 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, $R_{\mathrm{T}}=N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}/\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where $N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}$ is the charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and $\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$ is the mean value over the whole analysed sample. The energy dependence of the $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$, 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 $p_{\rm T}$ spectra as a function of $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ in the three azimuthal regions in pp, p$-$Pb, and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ 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)

Measurement of (anti)alpha production in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02 TeV

International audienceIn this letter, measurements of (anti)alpha production in central (0$-$10%) Pb$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon$-$nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV are presented, including the first measurement of an antialpha transverse-momentum spectrum. Owing to its large mass, (anti)alpha production yields and transverse-momentum spectra are of particular interest because they provide a stringent test of particle production models. The averaged antialpha and alpha spectrum is included into a common blast-wave fit with lighter particles, indicating that the (anti)alpha also participates in the collective expansion of the medium created in the collision. A blast-wave fit including only protons, (anti)alpha, and other light nuclei results in a similar flow velocity as the fit that includes all particles. A similar flow velocity, but a significantly larger kinetic freeze-out temperature is obtained when only protons and light nuclei are included in the fit. The coalescence parameter $B_4$ is well described by calculations from a statistical hadronization model but significantly underestimated by calculations assuming nucleus formation via coalescence of nucleons. Similarly, the (anti)alpha-to-proton ratio is well described by the statistical hadronization model. On the other hand, coalescence calculations including approaches with different implementations of the (anti)alpha substructure tend to underestimate the data

Studying the interaction between charm and light-flavor mesons

International audienceThe two-particle momentum correlation functions between charm mesons ($\mathrm{D^{*\pm}}$ and $\mathrm{D}^\pm$) and charged light-flavor mesons ($\pi^{\pm}$ and K$^{\pm}$) in all charge-combinations are measured for the first time by the ALICE Collaboration in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =13$ TeV. For $\mathrm{DK}$ and $\mathrm{D^*K}$ pairs, the experimental results are in agreement with theoretical predictions of the residual strong interaction based on quantum chromodynamics calculations on the lattice and chiral effective field theory. In the case of $\mathrm{D}\pi$ and $\mathrm{D^*}\pi$ pairs, tension between the calculations including strong interactions and the measurement is observed. For all particle pairs, the data can be adequately described by Coulomb interaction only, indicating a shallow interaction between charm and light-flavor mesons. Finally, the scattering lengths governing the residual strong interaction of the $\mathrm{D}\pi$ and $\mathrm{D^*}\pi$ systems are determined by fitting the experimental correlation functions with a model that employs a Gaussian potential. The extracted values are small and compatible with zero

Investigating the nature of the K0∗(700)^*_0(700) state with π±\pi^\pmKS0^0_{\rm S} correlations at the LHC

International audienceThe first measurements of femtoscopic correlations with the particle pair combinations $\pi^\pm$K$^0_{\rm S}$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are reported by the ALICE experiment. Using the femtoscopic approach, it is shown that it is possible to study the elusive K$^*_0(700)$ particle that has been considered a tetraquark candidate for over forty years. Boson source parameters and final-state interaction parameters are extracted by fitting a model assuming a Gaussian source to the experimentally measured two-particle correlation functions. The final-state interaction is modeled through a resonant scattering amplitude, defined in terms of a mass and a coupling parameter, decaying into a $\pi^\pm$K$^0_{\rm S}$ pair. The extracted mass and Breit-Wigner width, derived from the coupling parameter, of the final-state interaction are found to be consistent with previous measurements of the K$^*_0(700)$. The small value and increasing behavior of the correlation strength with increasing source size support the hypothesis that the K$^*_0(700)$ is a four-quark state, i.e. a tetraquark state. This latter trend is also confirmed via a simple geometric model that assumes a tetraquark structure of the K$^*_0(700)$ resonance

Measurement of Ωc0\Omega^0_{\rm c} baryon production and branching-fraction ratio BR(Ωc0→Ω−e+νe)/BR(Ωc0→Ω−π+){\rm BR(\Omega^0_c \rightarrow \Omega^- e^+\nu_e)} / {\rm BR(\Omega^0_c \rightarrow \Omega^- \pi^+)} in pp collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceThe inclusive production of the charm-strange baryon $\Omega^{0}_{\rm c}$ is measured for the first time via its semileptonic decay into $\Omega^{-}\rm e^{+}\nu_{e}$ at midrapidity ($|y|<0.8$) in proton$-$proton (pp) collisions at the centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) differential cross section multiplied by the branching ratio is presented in the interval $2<p_{\rm T}<12~{\rm GeV}/c$. The branching-fraction ratio ${\rm BR}(\Omega^0_{\rm c} \rightarrow \Omega^{-}{\rm e}^{+}\nu_{\rm e})/ {\rm BR}(\Omega^0_{\rm c} \rightarrow \Omega^{-}{\pi}^{+})$ is measured to be 1.12 $\pm$ 0.22 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.27 (syst.). Comparisons with other experimental measurements, as well as with theoretical calculations, are presented

Systematic study of flow vector decorrelation in sNN=5.02\mathbf{\sqrt{\textit{s}_{_{\bf NN}}}=5.02} TeV Pb-Pb collisions

International audienceMeasurements of the $p_{\rm T}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}} = 5.02~\mathrm{TeV}$ using azimuthal correlations with the ALICE experiment at the LHC are presented. A four-particle correlation approach [1] is used to quantify the effects of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations separately. This paper extends previous studies to additional centrality intervals and provides measurements of the $p_{\rm T}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}} = 5.02~\mathrm{TeV}$ with two-particle correlations. Significant $p_{\rm T}$-dependent fluctuations of the $\vec{V}_{2}$ flow vector in Pb-Pb collisions are found across different centrality ranges, with the largest fluctuations of up to $\sim$15% being present in the 5% most central collisions. In parallel, no evidence of significant $p_{\rm T}$-dependent fluctuations of $\vec{V}_{3}$ or $\vec{V}_{4}$ is found. Additionally, evidence of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations is observed with more than $5\sigma$ significance in central collisions. These observations in Pb-Pb collisions indicate where the classical picture of hydrodynamic modeling with a common symmetry plane breaks down. This has implications for hard probes at high $p_{\rm T}$, which might be biased by $p_{\rm T}$-dependent flow angle fluctuations of at least 23% in central collisions. Given the presented results, existing theoretical models should be re-examined to improve our understanding of initial conditions, quark--gluon plasma (QGP) properties, and the dynamic evolution of the created system

Experimental Evidence for an Attractive p-ϕ\phi Interaction

This Letter presents the first experimental evidence of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a ϕ meson. The result is obtained from two-particle correlations of combined $p$-ϕ⊕ $\bar{p}$-ϕ pairs measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The spin-averaged scattering length and effective range of the p-ϕ interaction are extracted from the fully corrected correlation function employing the Lednický-Lyuboshits approach. In particular, the imaginary part of the scattering length vanishes within uncertainties, indicating that inelastic processes do not play a prominent role for the p-ϕ interaction. These data demonstrate that the interaction is dominated by elastic p-ϕ scattering. Furthermore, an analysis employing phenomenological Gaussian- and Yukawa-type potentials is conducted. Under the assumption of the latter, the N-ϕ coupling constant is found to be $g_{N-ϕ}$ = 0.14 ± 0.03(stat) ± 0.02(syst). This work provides valuable experimental input to accomplish a self-consistent description of the N-ϕ interaction, which is particularly relevant for the more fundamental studies on partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear medium