Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

Peer reviewe

Strangeness production in Pb-Pb collisions at LHC energies with ALICE

The results on the production of strange and multi-strange hadrons (K0S, Λ, Ξ and Ω) measured with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at the top LHC energy of SNN = 5.02 TeV are reported. Thanks to its excellent tracking and particle identification capabilities, ALICE is able to measure weakly decaying particles through the topological reconstruction of the identified hadronic decay products. Results are presented as a function of centrality and include transverse momentum spectra measured at central rapidity, pT-dependent Λ/K0S ratios and integrated yields. A systematic study of strangeness production is of fundamental importance for determining the thermal properties of the system created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions. In order to study strangeness enhancement, the yields of studied particles are normalised to the corresponding measurement of pion production in the various centrality classes. The results are compared to measurements performed at lower energies, as well as to different systems and to predictions from statistical hadronization models

Measurement of an excess in the yield of J/ψ at very low pT in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV

We report on the first measurement of an excess in the yield of J/ψ at very low transverse momentum (pT<0.3 GeV/c) in peripheral hadronic Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV, performed by ALICE at the CERN LHC. Remarkably, the measured nuclear modification factor (RAA) of J/ψ in the rapidity range 2.5<y<4 reaches about 7 (2) in the pT range 0-0.3 GeV/c in the 70-90% (50-70%) centrality class. The J/ψ production cross section associated with the observed excess is obtained under the hypothesis that coherent photoproduction of J/ψ is the underlying physics mechanism. If confirmed, the observation of J/ψ coherent photoproduction in Pb-Pb collisions at impact parameters smaller than twice the nuclear radius opens new theoretical and experimental challenges and opportunities. In particular, coherent photoproduction accompanying hadronic collisions may provide insight into the dynamics of photoproduction and nuclear reactions, as well as become a novel probe of the Quark-Gluon Plasma

Centrality dependence of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

The pseudorapidity density of charged particles (dNch/dη) at mid-rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions has been measured at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV. It increases with centrality and reaches a value of 1943±54 in |η|<0.5 for the 5% most central collisions. A rise in dNch/dη as a function of sNN−−−√ for the most central collisions is observed, steeper than that observed in proton-proton collisions and following the trend established by measurements at lower energy. The centrality dependence of dNch/dη as a function of the average number of participant nucleons, ⟨Npart⟩, calculated in a Glauber model, is compared with the previous measurement at lower energy. A constant factor of about 1.2 describes the increase in 2⟨Npart⟩⟨dNch/dη⟩ from sNN−−−√ = 2.76 TeV to sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV for all centrality intervals, within the measured range of 0-80% centrality. The results are also compared to models based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions

Charge-dependent flow and the search for the Chiral Magnetic Wave in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV

We report on measurements of a charge-dependent flow using a novel three-particle correlator with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC, and discuss the implications for observation of local parity violation and the Chiral Magnetic Wave (CMW) in heavy-ion collisions. Charge-dependent flow is reported for different collision centralities as a function of the event charge asymmetry. While our results are in qualitative agreement with expectations based on the CMW, the nonzero signal observed in higher harmonics correlations indicates a possible significant background contribution. We also present results on a differential correlator, where the flow of positive and negative charges is reported as a function of the mean charge of the particles and their pseudorapidity separation. We argue that this differential correlator is better suited to distinguish the differences in positive and negative charges expected due to the CMW and the background effects, such as local charge conservation coupled with strong radial and anisotropic flow

Measurement of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

The production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in minimum-bias p-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=5.02 TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The measurement covers the pT interval 0.5<pT<12 GeV/c and the rapidity range −1.06<ycms<0.14 in the centre-of-mass reference frame. The contribution of electrons from background sources was subtracted using an invariant mass approach. The nuclear modification factor RpPb was calculated by comparing the pT-differential invariant cross section in p-Pb collisions to a pp reference at the same centre-of-mass energy, which was obtained by interpolating measurements at s√=2.76 TeV and s√=7 TeV. The RpPb is consistent with unity within uncertainties of about 25%, which become larger for pT below 1 GeV/c. The data are described by recent model calculations that include cold nuclear matter effects

Pseudorapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

The pseudorapidity (η) and transverse-momentum (pT) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions are measured at the centre-of-mass energy s√ = 13 TeV. The pseudorapidity distribution in |η|< 1.8 is reported for inelastic events and for events with at least one charged particle in |η|< 1. The pseudorapidity density of charged particles produced in the pseudorapidity region |η|< 0.5 is 5.31 ± 0.18 and 6.46 ± 0.19 for the two event classes, respectively. The transverse-momentum distribution of charged particles is measured in the range 0.15 < pT < 20 GeV/c and |η|< 0.8 for events with at least one charged particle in |η|< 1. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also investigated by studying the evolution of the spectra with event multiplicity. The results are compared with calculations from PYTHIA and EPOS Monte Carlo generators

Multi-strange baryon production in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02

The multi-strange baryon yields in Pb--Pb collisions have been shown to exhibit an enhancement relative to pp reactions. In this work, Ξ and Ω production rates have been measured with the ALICE experiment as a function of transverse momentum, pT, in p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sNN−−−√ = 5.02 TeV. The results cover the kinematic ranges 0.6 GeV/c<pT<7.2 GeV/c and 0.8 GeV/c<pT< 5 GeV/c, for Ξ and Ω respectively, in the common rapidity interval -0.5 <yCMS< 0. Multi-strange baryons have been identified by reconstructing their weak decays into charged particles. The pT spectra are analysed as a function of event charged-particle multiplicity, which in p-Pb collisions ranges over one order of magnitude and lies between those observed in pp and Pb-Pb collisions. The measured pT distributions are compared to the expectations from a Blast-Wave model. The parameters which describe the production of lighter hadron species also describe the hyperon spectra in high multiplicity p-Pb. The yield of hyperons relative to charged pions is studied and compared with results from pp and Pb-Pb collisions. A statistical model is employed, which describes the change in the ratios with volume using a canonical suppression mechanism, in which the small volume causes a species-dependent relative reduction of hadron production. The calculations, in which the magnitude of the effect depends on the strangeness content, show good qualitative agreement with the data