Measurement of forward charged hadron flow harmonics in peripheral PbPb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the LHCb detector

Flow harmonic coefficients, v n , which are the key to studying the hydrodynamics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in heavy-ion collisions, have been measured in various collision systems and kinematic regions and using various particle species. The study of flow harmonics in a wide pseudorapidity range is particularly valuable to understand the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of the QGP. This paper presents the first LHCb results of the second- and the third-order flow harmonic coefficients of charged hadrons as a function of transverse momentum in the forward region, corresponding to pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.9, using the data collected from PbPb collisions in 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV . The coefficients measured using the two-particle angular correlation analysis method are smaller than the central-pseudorapidity measurements at ALICE and ATLAS from the same collision system but share similar features

Helium identification with LHCb

The identification of helium nuclei at LHCb is achieved using a method based on measurements of ionisation losses in the silicon sensors and timing measurements in the Outer Tracker drift tubes. The background from photon conversions is reduced using the RICH detectors and an isolation requirement. The method is developed using pp collision data at √(s) = 13 TeV recorded by the LHCb experiment in the years 2016 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.5 fb-1. A total of around 105 helium and antihelium candidates are identified with negligible background contamination. The helium identification efficiency is estimated to be approximately 50% with a corresponding background rejection rate of up to O(10^12). These results demonstrate the feasibility of a rich programme of measurements of QCD and astrophysics interest involving light nuclei

Curvature-bias corrections using a pseudomass method

Momentum measurements for very high momentum charged particles, such as muons from electroweak vector boson decays, are particularly susceptible to charge-dependent curvature biases that arise from misalignments of tracking detectors. Low momentum charged particles used in alignment procedures have limited sensitivity to coherent displacements of such detectors, and therefore are unable to fully constrain these misalignments to the precision necessary for studies of electroweak physics. Additional approaches are therefore required to understand and correct for these effects. In this paper the curvature biases present at the LHCb detector are studied using the pseudomass method in proton-proton collision data recorded at centre of mass energy √(s)=13 TeV during 2016, 2017 and 2018. The biases are determined using Z→μ + μ - decays in intervals defined by the data-taking period, magnet polarity and muon direction. Correcting for these biases, which are typically at the 10-4 GeV-1 level, improves the Z→μ + μ - mass resolution by roughly 18% and eliminates several pathological trends in the kinematic-dependence of the mean dimuon invariant mass

Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark T+cc

Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the D0D0π+ mass spectrum just below the D*+D0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T+cc tetraquark with a quark content of ccu⎯⎯⎯d⎯⎯⎯ and spin-parity quantum numbers JP = 1+. Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D*+ mesons is consistent with the observed D0π+ mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the D*D system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T+cc state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T+cc state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed

A unique temperate rocky coastal hydrothermal vent system (Whakaari-White Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand): constraints for ocean acidification studies

In situ effects of ocean acidification are increasingly studied at submarine CO2 vents. Here we present a preliminary investigation into the water chemistry and biology of cool temperate CO₂ vents near Whakaari–White Island, New Zealand. Water samples were collected inside three vent shafts, within vents at a distance of 2 m from the shaft and at control sites. Vent samples contained both seawater pH on the total scale (pHT) and carbonate saturation states that were severely reduced, creating conditions as predicted for beyond the year 2100. Vent samples showed lower salinities, higher temperatures and greater nutrient concentrations. Sulfide levels were elevated and mercury levels were at concentrations considered toxic at all vent and control sites, but stable organic and inorganic ligands were present, as deduced from Cu speciation data, potentially mediating harmful effects on local organisms. The biological investigations focused on phytoplankton, zooplankton and macroalgae. Interestingly, we found lower abundances but higher diversity of phytoplankton and zooplankton at sites in the direct vicinity of Whakaari. Follow-up studies will need a combination of methods and approaches to attribute observations to specific drivers. The Whakaari vents represent a unique ecosystem with considerable biogeochemical complexity, which, like many other vent systems globally, require care in their use as a model of ‘future oceans’.R. Zitoun, S. D. Connell, C. E. Cornwall, K. I. Currie, K. Fabricius E , L. J. Hoffmann ... et al

Measurement of lepton universality parameters in <math display="inline"><msup><mi>B</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>K</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mo>ℓ</mo><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mo>ℓ</mo><mo>-</mo></msup></math> and <math display="inline"><msup><mi>B</mi><mn>0</mn></msup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>K</mi><mrow><mo>*</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup><msup><mo>ℓ</mo><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mo>ℓ</mo><mo>-</mo></msup></math> decays

International audienceA simultaneous analysis of the B+→K+ℓ+ℓ- and B0→K*0ℓ+ℓ- decays is performed to test muon-electron universality in two ranges of the square of the dilepton invariant mass, q2. The measurement uses a sample of beauty meson decays produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb-1. A sequence of multivariate selections and strict particle identification requirements produce a higher signal purity and a better statistical sensitivity per unit luminosity than previous LHCb lepton universality tests using the same decay modes. Residual backgrounds due to misidentified hadronic decays are studied using data and included in the fit model. Each of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in the given q2 interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model

First measurement of the Z→μ+μ−Z\rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^- angular coefficients in the forward region of pppp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

The first study of the angular distribution of $\mu^+ \mu^-$ pairs produced in the forward rapidity region via the Drell-Yan reaction $pp \rightarrow \gamma^{*}/Z +X \rightarrow l^+ l^- + X$ is presented, using data collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 $\rm{fb}^{-1}$. The coefficients of the five leading terms in the angular distribution are determined as a function of the dimuon transverse momentum and rapidity. The results are compared to various theoretical predictions of the $Z$-boson production mechanism and can also be used to probe transverse-momentum-dependent parton distributions within the proton