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

First measurement of coherent ρ0 photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV

The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γp data and γ–Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number (A) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe+Xe→ρ0+Xe+Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ0→π+π−, is found to be dσ/dy=131.5±5.6(stat.)−16.9+17.5(syst.) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γA system of WγA,n=65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ(γA→ρ0A)∝Aα with a slope α=0.96±0.02(syst.). This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.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

A(c)(+) Production and Baryon-to-Meson Ratios in pp and p-Pb Collisions at root S-NN=5.02 TeV at the LHC

The prompt production of the charm baryon \u39bc+ and the \u39bc+/D0 production ratios were measured at midrapidity with the ALICE detector in pp and p-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV. These new measurements show a clear decrease of the \u39bc+/D0 ratio with increasing transverse momentum (pT) in both collision systems in the range 2<12 GeV/c, exhibiting similarities with the light-flavor baryon-to-meson ratios p/\u3c0 and \u39b/KS0. At low pT, predictions that include additional color-reconnection mechanisms beyond the leading-color approximation, assume the existence of additional higher-mass charm-baryon states, or include hadronization via coalescence can describe the data, while predictions driven by charm-quark fragmentation processes measured in e+e- and e-p collisions significantly underestimate the data. The results presented in this Letter provide significant evidence that the established assumption of universality (colliding-system independence) of parton-to-hadron fragmentation is not sufficient to describe charm-baryon production in hadronic collisions at LHC energies

A(c)(+) Production and Baryon-to-Meson Ratios in pp and p-Pb Collisions at root S-NN=5.02 TeV at the LHC

The prompt production of the charm baryon Λ_{c}^{+} and the Λ_{c}^{+}/D^{0} production ratios were measured at midrapidity with the ALICE detector in pp and p-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV. These new measurements show a clear decrease of the Λ_{c}^{+}/D^{0} ratio with increasing transverse momentum (p_{T}) in both collision systems in the range 2<p_{T}<12  GeV/c, exhibiting similarities with the light-flavor baryon-to-meson ratios p/π and Λ/K_{S}^{0}. At low p_{T}, predictions that include additional color-reconnection mechanisms beyond the leading-color approximation, assume the existence of additional higher-mass charm-baryon states, or include hadronization via coalescence can describe the data, while predictions driven by charm-quark fragmentation processes measured in e^{+}e^{-} and e^{-}p collisions significantly underestimate the data. The results presented in this Letter provide significant evidence that the established assumption of universality (colliding-system independence) of parton-to-hadron fragmentation is not sufficient to describe charm-baryon production in hadronic collisions at LHC energies

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

Constraining the Chiral Magnetic Effect with charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 and 5.02 TeV

Systematic studies of charge-dependent two- and three-particle correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN = 2.76 and 5.02 TeV used to probe the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) are presented. These measurements are performed for charged particles in the pseudorapidity (\u3b7) and transverse momentum (pT) ranges |\u3b7| &lt; 0.8 and 0.2 &lt; pT&lt; 5 GeV/c. A significant charge-dependent signal that becomes more pronounced for peripheral collisions is reported for the CME-sensitive correlators \u3b31, 1 = \u3008cos(\u3c6\u3b1 + \u3c6\u3b2 12 2\u3a82)\u3009 and \u3b31, 12 3 = \u3008cos(\u3c6\u3b1 12 3\u3c6\u3b2 + 2\u3a82)\u3009. The results are used to estimate the contribution of background effects, associated with local charge conservation coupled to anisotropic flow modulations, to measurements of the CME. A blast-wave parametrisation that incorporates local charge conservation tuned to reproduce the centrality dependent background effects is not able to fully describe the measured \u3b31,1. Finally, the charge and centrality dependence of mixed-harmonics three-particle correlations, of the form \u3b31, 2 = \u3008cos(\u3c6\u3b1 + 2\u3c6\u3b2 12 3\u3a83)\u3009, which are insensitive to the CME signal, verify again that background contributions dominate the measurement of \u3b31,1

Charged-particle production as a function of multiplicity and transverse spherocity in pp collisions at √s=5.02 and 13 TeV

We present a study of the inclusive charged- particle transverse momentum ( pT ) spectra as a function of charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-pseudorapidity, d Nch /dη, in pp collisions at √s = 5.02 and 13 TeV covering the kinematic range |η| 0). The pT spectra are reported for two multiplicity estimators covering different pseudo- rapidity regions. The pT spectra normalized to that for INEL> 0 show little energy dependence. Moreover, the high-pT yields of charged particles increase faster than the charged-particle multiplicity density. The average pT as a function of multiplicity and transverse spherocity is reported for pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV. For low- (high-) spherocity events, corresponding to jet-like (isotropic) events, the aver- age pT is higher (smaller) than that measured in INEL > 0 pp collisions. Within uncertainties, the functional form of ⟨ pT ⟩( Nch ) is not affected by the spherocity selection. While EPOS LHC gives a good description of many features of data, PYTHIA overestimates the average pT in jet-like events