(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted; see image) Abstract Inclusive J/psi production has been studied with the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at the nucleon-nucleon ...center of mass energy ... = 5.02 TeV at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed in the center of mass rapidity domains 2.03 < y ^sub cms^ < 3.53 and -4.46 < y ^sub cms^ < -2.96, down to zero transverse momentum, studying the mu ^sup +^ mu ^sup -^ decay mode. In this paper, the J/psi production cross section and the nuclear modification factor R ^sub pPb^ for the rapidities under study are presented. While at forward rapidity, corresponding to the proton direction, a suppression of the J/psi yield with respect to binary-scaled pp collisions is observed, in the backward region no suppression is present. The ratio of the forward and backward yields is also measured differentially in rapidity and transverse momentum. Theoretical predictions based on nuclear shadowing, as well as on models including, in addition, a contribution from partonic energy loss, are in fair agreement with the experimental results. Figure not available: see fulltext.
The directed flow of charged particles at midrapidity is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV relative to the collision symmetry plane defined by the spectator nucleons. A negative slope ...of the rapidity-odd directed flow component with approximately 3 times smaller magnitude than found at the highest RHIC energy is observed. This suggests a smaller longitudinal tilt of the initial system and disfavors the strong fireball rotation predicted for the LHC energies. The rapidity-even directed flow component is measured for the first time with spectators and found to be independent of pseudorapidity with a sign change at transverse momenta p(T) between 1.2 and 1.7 GeV/c. Combined with the observation of a vanishing rapidity-even p(T) shift along the spectator deflection this is strong evidence for dipolelike initial density fluctuations in the overlap zone of the nuclei. Similar trends in the rapidity-even directed flow and the estimate from two-particle correlations at midrapidity, which is larger by about a factor of 40, indicate a weak correlation between fluctuating participant and spectator symmetry planes. These observations open new possibilities for investigation of the initial conditions in heavy-ion collisions with spectator nucleons.
The ALICE measurement of K(S)(0) and Λ production at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV is presented. The transverse momentum (p(T)) spectra are shown for several collision ...centrality intervals and in the p(T) range from 0.4 GeV/c (0.6 GeV/c for Λ) to 12 GeV/c. The p(T) dependence of the Λ/K(S)(0) ratios exhibits maxima in the vicinity of 3 GeV/c, and the positions of the maxima shift towards higher p(T) with increasing collision centrality. The magnitude of these maxima increases by almost a factor of three between most peripheral and most central Pb-Pb collisions. This baryon excess at intermediate p(T) is not observed in pp interactions at √s=0.9 TeV and at √s=7 TeV. Qualitatively, the baryon enhancement in heavy-ion collisions is expected from radial flow. However, the measured p(T) spectra above 2 GeV/c progressively decouple from hydrodynamical-model calculations. For higher values of p(T), models that incorporate the influence of the medium on the fragmentation and hadronization processes describe qualitatively the p(T) dependence of the Λ/K(S)(0) ratio.
We report on the first measurement of inclusive J/ψ elliptic flow v2 in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV ...in the rapidity range 2.5<y<4.0. The dependence of the J/ψ v2 on the collision centrality and on the J/ψ transverse momentum is studied in the range 0≤p(T)<10 GeV/c. For semicentral Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV, an indication of nonzero v2 is observed with a largest measured value of v2=0.116±0.046(stat)±0.029(syst) for J/ψ in the transverse momentum range 2≤p(T)<4 GeV/c. The elliptic flow measurement complements the previously reported ALICE results on the inclusive J/ψ nuclear modification factor and favors the scenario of a significant fraction of J/ψ production from charm quarks in a deconfined partonic phase.