First measurement of the |t|-dependence of coherent J/ψ photonuclear production

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=5.02TeV 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.publishedVersio

Resolving the strange behavior of extraterrestrial potassium in the upper atmosphere

It has been known since the 1960s that the layers of Na and K atoms, which occur between 80 and 105 km in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of meteoric ablation, exhibit completely different seasonal behavior. In the extratropics Na varies annually, with a pronounced wintertime maximum and summertime minimum. However, K varies semiannually with a small summertime maximum and minima at the equinoxes. This contrasting behavior has never been satisfactorily explained. Here we use a combination of electronic structure and chemical kinetic rate theory to determine two key differences in the chemistries of K and Na. First, the neutralization of K+ ions is only favored at low temperatures during summer. Second, cycling between K and its major neutral reservoir KHCO3 is essentially temperature independent. A whole atmosphere model incorporating this new chemistry, together with a meteor input function, now correctly predicts the seasonal behavior of the K layer

Particle identification studies with a full-size 4-GEM prototype for the ALICE TPC upgrade

A large Time Projection Chamber is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019/20, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate of about 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 50 above the present readout rate of the TPC. This will result in a significant improvement on the sensitivity to rare probes that are considered key observables to characterize the QCD matter created in such collisions. In order to make full use of this luminosity, the currently used gated Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers will be replaced. The upgrade relies on continuously operated readout detectors employing Gas Electron Multiplier technology to retain the performance in terms of particle identification via the measurement of the specific energy loss by ionization dE/dx. A full-size readout chamber prototype was assembled in 2014 featuring a stack of four GEM foils as an amplification stage. The performance of the prototype was evaluated in a test beam campaign at the CERN PS. The dE/dx resolution complies with both the performance of the currently operated MWPC-based readout chambers and the challenging requirements of the ALICE TPC upgrade program. Detailed simulations of the readout system are able to reproduce the data

Global baryon number conservation encoded in net-proton fluctuations measured in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

Experimental results are presented on event-by-event net-proton fluctuation measurements in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV, recorded by the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. These measurements have as their ultimate goal an experimental test of Lattice QCD (LQCD) predictions on second and higher order cumulants of net-baryon distributions to search for critical behavior near the QCD phase boundary. Before confronting them with LQCD predictions, account has to be taken of correlations stemming from baryon number conservation as well as fluctuations of participating nucleons. Both effects influence the experimental measurements and are usually not considered in theoretical calculations. For the first time, it is shown that event-by-event baryon number conservation leads to subtle long-range correlations arising from very early interactions in the collisions

J/psi Elliptic Flow in Pb-Pb Collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

We report a precise measurement of the J/psi elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The J/psi mesons are reconstructed at midrapidity (|y| < 0.9) in the dielectron decay channel and at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4.0) in the dimuon channel, both down to zero transverse momentum. At forward rapidity, the elliptic flow v(2) of the J/psi is studied as a function of the transverse momentum and centrality. A positive v(2) is observed in the transverse momentum range 2<p(T)<8GeV/c in the three centrality classes studied and confirms with higher statistics our earlier results at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV in semicentral collisions. At midrapidity, the J/psi v(2) is investigated as a function of the transverse momentum in semicentral collisions and found to be in agreement with the measurements at forward rapidity. These results are compared to transport model calculations. The comparison supports the idea that at low p(T) the elliptic flow of the J/psi originates from the thermalization of charm quarks in the deconfined medium but suggests that additional mechanisms might be missing in the models

Production of omega mesons in pp collisions at s=7 TeV

The invariant differential cross section of inclusive omega (782) meson production at midrapidity (|y| pi+pi-pi 0 decay channel. The measured omega production cross section is compared to various calculations: PYTHIA 8.2 Monash 2013 describes the data, while PYTHIA 8.2 Tune 4C overestimates the data by about 50%. A recent NLO calculation, which includes a model describing the fragmentation of the whole vector-meson nonet, describes the data within uncertainties below 6 GeV/c, while it overestimates the data by up to 50% for higher pT. The omega/pi 0 ratio is in agreement with previous measurements at lower collision energies and the PYTHIA calculations. In addition, the measurement is compatible with transverse mass scaling within the measured pT range and the ratio is constant with C omega/pi 0=0.67 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.04(sys) above a transverse momentum of 2.5 GeV/c