One of the key challenges for nuclear physics today is to understand from first principles the effective interaction between hadrons with different quark content. First successes have been achieved ...using techniques that solve the dynamics of quarks and gluons on discrete space-time lattices
. Experimentally, the dynamics of the strong interaction have been studied by scattering hadrons off each other. Such scattering experiments are difficult or impossible for unstable hadrons
and so high-quality measurements exist only for hadrons containing up and down quarks
. Here we demonstrate that measuring correlations in the momentum space between hadron pairs
produced in ultrarelativistic proton-proton collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) provides a precise method with which to obtain the missing information on the interaction dynamics between any pair of unstable hadrons. Specifically, we discuss the case of the interaction of baryons containing strange quarks (hyperons). We demonstrate how, using precision measurements of proton-omega baryon correlations, the effect of the strong interaction for this hadron-hadron pair can be studied with precision similar to, and compared with, predictions from lattice calculations
. The large number of hyperons identified in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, together with accurate modelling
of the small (approximately one femtometre) inter-particle distance and exact predictions for the correlation functions, enables a detailed determination of the short-range part of the nucleon-hyperon interaction.
The design, construction, and commissioning of the ALICE Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is described. It is the main device for pattern recognition, tracking, and identification of charged particles ...in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The TPC is cylindrical in shape with a volume close to 90m3 and is operated in a 0.5T solenoidal magnetic field parallel to its axis.
In this paper we describe in detail the design considerations for this detector for operation in the extreme multiplicity environment of central Pb–Pb collisions at LHC energy. The implementation of the resulting requirements into hardware (field cage, read-out chambers, electronics), infrastructure (gas and cooling system, laser-calibration system), and software led to many technical innovations which are described along with a presentation of all the major components of the detector, as currently realized. We also report on the performance achieved after completion of the first round of stand-alone calibration runs and demonstrate results close to those specified in the TPC Technical Design Report.
The azimuthal anisotropy coefficient v2 of prompt D0, D+, D∗+, and Ds+ mesons was measured in midcentral (30%-50% centrality class) Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair ...sNN=5.02 TeV, with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decays at midrapidity, |y|
We review the main results obtained by the BRAHMS Collaboration on the properties of hot and dense hadronic and partonic matter produced in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions at RHIC. A ...particular focus of this paper is to discuss to what extent the results collected so far by BRAHMS, and by the other three experiments at RHIC, can be taken as evidence for the formation of a state of deconfined partonic matter, the so-called quark–gluon plasma (QGP). We also discuss evidence for a possible precursor state to the QGP, i.e., the proposed color glass condensate.
The elliptic, v2, triangular, v3, and quadrangular, v4, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions, and (anti-)protons in Pb–Pb collisions at ...sNN=2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range |η|<0.8 at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, pT, out to pT=20 GeV/c. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for pT>8 GeV/c. The small pT dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to pT=8 GeV/c. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least pT=8 GeV/c indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high pT.
The prompt production of the charm baryon Λ+c and the Λ+c/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 Λ+c/D0 ratio with increasing transverse momentum (pT) in both collision systems in the range 2<pT<12 GeV/c, exhibiting similarities with the light-flavor baryon-to-meson ratios p/π and Λ/K0S. 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
bstract
Measurements of anisotropic flow coefficients with two- and multi-particle cumulants for inclusive charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at
s
N
N
=
5.02
and 2.76 TeV are reported in the ...pseudorapidity range |
η
| < 0.8 and transverse momentum 0.2 <
p
T
< 50 GeV/
c
. The full data sample collected by the ALICE detector in 2015 (2010), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 12.7 (2.0)
μ
b
−1
in the centrality range 0-80%, is analysed. Flow coefficients up to the sixth flow harmonic (
v
6
) are reported and a detailed comparison among results at the two energies is carried out. The
p
T
dependence of anisotropic flow coefficients and its evolution with respect to centrality and harmonic number
n
are investigated. An approximate power-law scaling of the form
v
n
(
p
T
) ∼
p
T
n
/3
is observed for all flow harmonics at low
p
T
(0.2 <
p
T
< 3 GeV/
c
). At the same time, the ratios
v
n
/
v
m
n
/
m
are observed to be essentially independent of
p
T
for most centralities up to about
p
T
= 10 GeV/
c
. Analysing the differences among higher-order cumulants of elliptic flow (
v
2
), which have different sensitivities to flow fluctuations, a measurement of the standardised skewness of the event-by-event
v
2
distribution
P
(
v
2
) is reported and constraints on its higher moments are provided. The Elliptic Power distribution is used to parametrise
P
(
v
2
), extracting its parameters from fits to cumulants. The measurements are compared to different model predictions in order to discriminate among initial-state models and to constrain the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy-density ratio.
This Letter presents the first experimental observation of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a multistrange baryon (hyperon) Ξ−. The result is extracted from two-particle ...correlations of combined p−Ξ−⊕p¯−Ξ¯+ pairs measured in p−Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV at the LHC with ALICE. The measured correlation function is compared with the prediction obtained assuming only an attractive Coulomb interaction and a standard deviation in the range 3.6, 5.3 is found. Since the measured p−Ξ−⊕p¯−Ξ¯+ correlation is significantly enhanced with respect to the Coulomb prediction, the presence of an additional, strong, attractive interaction is evident. The data are compatible with recent lattice calculations by the HAL-QCD Collaboration, with a standard deviation in the range 1.8, 3.7. The lattice potential predicts a shallow repulsive Ξ− interaction within pure neutron matter and this implies stiffer equations of state for neutron-rich matter including hyperons. Implications of the strong interaction for the modeling of neutron stars are discussed.
In this Letter, comprehensive results on π±, K±, KS0, p(p¯) and Λ(Λ¯) production at mid-rapidity (0<yCMS<0.5) in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV, measured by the ALICE detector at the LHC, are ...reported. The transverse momentum distributions exhibit a hardening as a function of event multiplicity, which is stronger for heavier particles. This behavior is similar to what has been observed in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC. The measured pT distributions are compared to d–Au, Au–Au and Pb–Pb results at lower energy and with predictions based on QCD-inspired and hydrodynamic models.
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