First measurement of <math><msubsup><mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mi><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> production down to <math><mrow><msub><mi>p</mi><mi>T</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></math> in <math><mrow><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi></mrow></math> and <math><mi>p</mi></math>-Pb collisions at <math><mrow><msqrt><msub><mi>s</mi><mrow><mi>N</mi><mi>N</mi></mrow></msub></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>5.02</mn></mrow></math> TeV

International audienceThe production of prompt Λc+ baryons has been measured at midrapidity in the transverse momentum interval 0&lt;pT&lt;1 GeV/c for the first time, in pp and p–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision sNN=5.02TeV. The measurement was performed in the decay channel Λc+→pKS0 by applying new decay reconstruction techniques using a Kalman-Filter vertexing algorithm and adopting a machine-learning approach for the candidate selection. The pT-integrated Λc+ production cross sections in both collision systems were determined and used along with the measured yields in Pb–Pb collisions to compute the pT-integrated nuclear modification factors RpPb and RAA of Λc+ baryons, which are compared to model calculations that consider nuclear modification of the parton distribution functions. The Λc+/D0 baryon-to-meson yield ratio is reported for pp and p–Pb collisions. Comparisons with models that include modified hadronization processes are presented, and the implications of the results on the understanding of charm hadronization in hadronic collisions are discussed. A significant (3.7σ) modification of the mean transverse momentum of Λc+ baryons is seen in p–Pb collisions with respect to pp collisions, while the pT-integrated Λc+/D0 yield ratio was found to be consistent between the two collision systems within the uncertainties

<math display="inline"><mrow><mi>ψ</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>2</mn><mi>S</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math> Suppression in Pb-Pb Collisions at the LHC

International audienceThe production of the ψ(2S) charmonium state was measured with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02  TeV, in the dimuon decay channel. A significant signal was observed for the first time at LHC energies down to zero transverse momentum, at forward rapidity (2.5&lt;y&lt;4). The measurement of the ratio of the inclusive production cross sections of the ψ(2S) and J/ψ resonances is reported as a function of the centrality of the collisions and of transverse momentum, in the region pT&lt;12  GeV/c. The results are compared with the corresponding measurements in pp collisions, by forming the double ratio [σψ(2S)/σJ/ψ]Pb-Pb/[σψ(2S)/σJ/ψ]pp. It is found that in Pb-Pb collisions the ψ(2S) is suppressed by a factor of ∼2 with respect to the J/ψ. The ψ(2S) nuclear modification factor RAA was also obtained as a function of both centrality and pT. The results show that the ψ(2S) resonance yield is strongly suppressed in Pb-Pb collisions, by a factor of up to ∼3 with respect to pp. Comparisons of cross section ratios with previous Super Proton Synchrotron findings by the NA50 experiment and of RAA with higher-pT results at LHC energy are also reported. These results and the corresponding comparisons with calculations of transport and statistical models address questions on the presence and properties of charmonium states in the quark-gluon plasma formed in nuclear collisions at the LHC

Azimuthal correlations of heavy-flavor hadron decay electrons with charged particles in pp and p–Pb collisions at sNN\pmb {\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{{NN}}}}} = 5.02 TeV

International audienceThe azimuthal ($\Delta \varphi$) correlation distributions between heavy-flavor decay electrons and associated charged particles are measured in pp and p–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{{NN}}}} = 5.02$ TeV. Results are reported for electrons with transverse momentum $4<p_{\textrm{T}}<16\textrm{GeV}/c$ and pseudorapidity $|\eta |<0.6$. The associated charged particles are selected with transverse momentum $1<p_{\textrm{T}}<7\textrm{GeV}/c$, and relative pseudorapidity separation with the leading electron $|\Delta \eta | < 1$. The correlation measurements are performed to study and characterize the fragmentation and hadronization of heavy quarks. The correlation structures are fitted with a constant and two von Mises functions to obtain the baseline and the near- and away-side peaks, respectively. The results from p–Pb collisions are compared with those from pp collisions to study the effects of cold nuclear matter. In the measured trigger electron and associated particle kinematic regions, the two collision systems give consistent results. The $\Delta \varphi$ distribution and the peak observables in pp and p–Pb collisions are compared with calculations from various Monte Carlo event generators

Light (anti)nuclei production in Pb-Pb collisions at <math><mrow><msqrt><msub><mi>s</mi><mrow><mi>N</mi><mi>N</mi></mrow></msub></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>5.02</mn><mo> </mo><mi>TeV</mi></mrow></math>

International audienceThe measurement of the production of deuterons, tritons and He3 and their antiparticles in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV is presented in this article. The measurements are carried out at midrapidity (|y|&lt; 0.5) as a function of collision centrality using the ALICE detector. The pT-integrated yields, the coalescence parameters and the ratios to protons and antiprotons are reported and compared with nucleosynthesis models. The comparison of these results in different collision systems at different center-of-mass collision energies reveals a suppression of nucleus production in small systems. In the Statistical Hadronisation Model framework, this can be explained by a small correlation volume where the baryon number is conserved, as already shown in previous fluctuation analyses. However, a different size of the correlation volume is required to describe the proton yields in the same data sets. The coalescence model can describe this suppression by the fact that the wave functions of the nuclei are large and the fireball size starts to become comparable and even much smaller than the actual nucleus at low multiplicities

System-size dependence of the hadronic rescattering effect at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

International audienceThe first measurements of K*(892)0 resonance production as a function of charged-particle multiplicity in Xe-Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV and pp collisions ats=5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector are presented. The resonance is reconstructed at midrapidity (|y| &lt; 0.5) using the hadronic decay channel K*0 →K±π∓. Measurements of transverse-momentum integrated yield, mean transverse-momentum, nuclear modification factor of K*0, and yield ratios of resonance to stable hadron (K*0/K) are compared across different collision systems (pp, p-Pb, Xe-Xe, and Pb-Pb) at similar collision energies to investigate how the production of K*0 resonances depends on the size of the system formed in these collisions. The hadronic rescattering effect is found to be independent of the size of colliding systems and mainly driven by the produced charged-particle multiplicity, which is a proxy of the volume of produced matter at the chemical freeze-out. In addition, the production yields of K*0 in Xe-Xe collisions are utilized to constrain the dependence of the kinetic freeze-out temperature on the system size using the hadron resonance gas–partial chemical equilibrium model

Jet-like correlations with respect to KS0^{0}_{\rm S} and Λ\Lambda (Λˉ\bar{\Lambda}) in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\mathbf{\it\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}} = 5.02 TeV

International audienceTwo-particle correlations with $\textrm{K}^{0}_\mathrm{{S}}$, $\Lambda$/$\overline{\Lambda }$, and charged hadrons as trigger particles in the transverse momentum range 8{3 GeV/$c$ as expected from strong in-medium energy loss, while an enhancement develops at low $p_{{\textrm{T}},{\textrm{assoc}}}$ on both the near and away sides, reaching $I_{\textrm{AA}}\approx 1.8$ and 2.7 respectively. These findings are in good agreement with previous ALICE measurements from two-particle correlations triggered by neutral pions ($\pi ^{0}$–h) and charged hadrons (h–h) in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}~=~2.76$ TeV. Moreover, the correlations with $\textrm{K}^{0}_\mathrm{{S}}$ mesons and $\Lambda$/$\overline{\Lambda }$ baryons as trigger particles are compared to those of inclusive charged hadrons. The results are compared with the predictions of Monte Carlo models

First measurement of prompt and non-prompt D⁎+ vector meson spin alignment in pp collisions at s=13 TeV

This letter reports the first measurement of spin alignment, with respect to the helicity axis, for D⁎+ vector mesons and their charge conjugates from charm-quark hadronisation (prompt) and from beauty-meson decays (non-prompt) in hadron collisions. The measurements were performed at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in proton–proton (pp) collisions collected by ALICE at the centre-of-mass energy s=13TeV. The diagonal spin density matrix element ρ00 of D⁎+ mesons was measured from the angular distribution of the D⁎+→D0(→K−π+)π+ decay products, in the D⁎+ rest frame, with respect to the D⁎+ momentum direction in the pp centre of mass frame. The ρ00 value for prompt D⁎+ mesons is consistent with 1/3, which implies no spin alignment. However, for non-prompt D⁎+ mesons an evidence of ρ00 larger than 1/3 is found. The measured value of the spin density element is ρ00=0.455±0.022(stat.)±0.035(syst.) in the 5<pT<20GeV/c interval, which is consistent with a Pythia 8 Monte Carlo simulation coupled with the EvtGen package, which implements the helicity conservation in the decay of D⁎+ meson from beauty mesons. In non-central heavy-ion collisions, the spin of the D⁎+ mesons may be globally aligned with the direction of the initial angular momentum and magnetic field. Based on the results for pp collisions reported in this letter it is shown that alignment of non-prompt D⁎+ mesons due to the helicity conservation coupled to the collective anisotropic expansion may mimic the signal of global spin alignment in heavy-ion collisions

J/ψ\psi production at midrapidity in p−-Pb collisions at sNN=8.16\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 8.16 TeV

International audienceThe production of inclusive, prompt and non-prompt J/ψ was studied for the first time at midrapidity (−1.37 2 GeV/c. The study of the J/ψ mesons in the dielectron channel used for the first time in ALICE online single-electron triggers from the Transition Radiation Detector, providing a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 689 ± 13 μb$^{−1}$. The proton-proton reference cross section for inclusive J/ψ was obtained based on interpolations of measured data at different centre-of-mass energies and a universal function describing the p$_{T}$-differential J/ψ production cross sections. The p$_{T}$-differential nuclear modification factors R$_{pPb}$ of inclusive, prompt, and non-prompt J/ψ are consistent with unity and described by theoretical models implementing only nuclear shadowing.[graphic not available: see fulltext

Accessing the strong interaction between Λ baryons and charged kaons with the femtoscopy technique at the LHC

The interaction between Λ baryons and kaons/antikaons is a crucial ingredient for the strangeness S=0 and S=−2 sector of the meson–baryon interaction at low energies. In particular, the ΛK‾ might help in understanding the origin of states such as the Ξ(1620), whose nature and properties are still under debate. Experimental data on Λ–K and Λ–K‾ systems are scarce, leading to large uncertainties and tension between the available theoretical predictions constrained by such data. In this Letter we present the measurements of Λ–K⊕+Λ‾–K− and Λ–K⊕−Λ‾–K+ correlations obtained in the high-multiplicity triggered data sample in pp collisions at s=13 TeV recorded by ALICE at the LHC. The correlation function for both pairs is modeled using the Lednický–Lyuboshits analytical formula and the corresponding scattering parameters are extracted. The Λ–K⊕−Λ‾–K+ correlations show the presence of several structures at relative momenta k⁎ above 200 MeV/c, compatible with the Ω baryon, the Ξ(1690), and Ξ(1820) resonances decaying into Λ–K− pairs. The low k⁎ region in the Λ–K⊕−Λ‾–K+ also exhibits the presence of the Ξ(1620) state, expected to strongly couple to the measured pair. The presented data allow to access the ΛK+ and ΛK− strong interaction with an unprecedented precision and deliver the first experimental observation of the Ξ(1620) decaying into ΛK−

Production of pions, kaons, and protons as a function of the relative transverse activity classifier in pp collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceThe production of π$^{±}$, K$^{±}$, and $\left(\overline{\textrm{p}}\right)\textrm{p}$ is measured in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV in different topological regions of the events. Particle transverse momentum (p$_{T}$) spectra are measured in the “toward”, “transverse”, and “away” angular regions defined with respect to the direction of the leading particle in the event. While the toward and away regions contain the fragmentation products of the near-side and away-side jets, respectively, the transverse region is dominated by particles from the Underlying Event (UE). The relative transverse activity classifier, R$_{T}$ = N$_{T}$/〈N$_{T}$〉, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where N$_{T}$ is the measured charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and 〈N$_{T}$〉 is the mean value over all the analysed events. The first measurements of identified particle p$_{T}$ spectra as a function of R$_{T}$ in the three topological regions are reported. It is found that the yield of high transverse momentum particles relative to the R$_{T}$-integrated measurement decreases with increasing R$_{T}$ in both the toward and the away regions, indicating that the softer UE dominates particle production as R$_{T}$ increases and validating that R$_{T}$ can be used to control the magnitude of the UE. Conversely, the spectral shapes in the transverse region harden significantly with increasing R$_{T}$. This hardening follows a mass ordering, being more significant for heavier particles. Finally, it is observed that the p$_{T}$-differential particle ratios \left(\textrm{p}+\overline{\textrm{p}}\right)/\left({\uppi}^{+}+{\uppi}^{-}\right) and (K$^{+}$ + K$^{−}$)/(π$^{+}$ + π$^{−}$) in the low UE limit (R$_{T}$ → 0) approach expectations from Monte Carlo generators such as PYTHIA 8 with Monash 2013 tune and EPOS LHC, where the jet-fragmentation models have been tuned to reproduce e$^{+}$e$^{−}$ results.[graphic not available: see fulltext