The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow $K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow $K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow $D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.
Production cross section in |y| < 0.5 for prompt D0, D+, and D*+ mesons in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV, in transverse momentum intervals. The second (sys) error is the uncertainty on the respective branching ratios.
Visible production cross sections of prompt D mesons for |y|<0.5 in pp collisions at sqrts=2.76 and 7 TeV. The normalization systematic uncertainty of 1.9% (3.5%) at sqrts=2.76 (7) TeV and the decay BR uncertainties are not quoted here.
Production cross sections dsig/dy of D mesons, integrated over all pt for |y|<0.5. The second (sys) error is the from the luminosity uncertainty, the third from the branching-ratio uncertainties and the fourth is from the extrapolation uncertainty.
The first measurement of neutron emission in electromagnetic dissociation of $^{208}$Pb nuclei at the LHC is presented. The measurement is performed using the neutron Zero Degree Calorimeters of the ALICE experiment, which detect neutral particles close to beam rapidity. The measured cross sections of single and mutual electromagnetic dissociation of Pb nuclei at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV with neutron emission are $\sigma_{\rm single\ EMD} = 187.4\pm0.2$ (stat.) $^{+13.2} _{-11.2}$ (syst.) b and $\sigma_{\rm mutual\ EMD} = 5.7\pm0.1$ (stat.) $\pm$0.4 (syst.) b, respectively. The experimental results are compared to the predictions from a relativistic electromagnetic dissociation model.
Single EMD -> at least one neutron is emitted by a given Pb nucleus disregarding the fate of the other nucleus.
Mutual EMD -> at least one neutron is emitted by both Pb nuclei.
Measurement of the total hadronic Pb-Pb cross section at 2.76 TeV per nucleon.
Measurements of the sphericity of primary charged particles in minimum bias proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC are presented. The observable is linearized to be collinear safe and is measured in the plane perpendicular to the beam direction using primary charged tracks with $p_{\rm T}\geq0.5$ GeV/c in $|\eta|\leq0.8$. The mean sphericity as a function of the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity ($N_{\rm ch}$) is reported for events with different $p_{\rm T}$ scales ("soft" and "hard") defined by the transverse momentum of the leading particle. In addition, the mean charged particle transverse momentum versus multiplicity is presented for the different event classes, and the sphericity distributions in bins of multiplicity are presented. The data are compared with calculations of standard Monte Carlo event generators. The transverse sphericity is found to grow with multiplicity at all collision energies, with a steeper rise at low $N_{\rm ch}$, whereas the event generators show the opposite tendency. The combined study of the sphericity and the mean $p_{\rm T}$ with multiplicity indicates that most of the tested event generators produce events with higher multiplicity by generating more back-to-back jets resulting in decreased sphericity (and isotropy). The PYTHIA6 generator with tune PERUGIA-2011 exhibits a noticeable improvement in describing the data, compared to the other tested generators.
pp @ 900 GeV, Mean Transverse Sphericity (y) vs Multiplicity.
pp @ 7000 GeV, Mean Transverse Sphericity (y) vs Multiplicity.
pp @ 2760 GeV, Mean Transverse Sphericity (y) vs Multiplicity.
The effect of event background fluctuations on charged particle jet reconstruction in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV has been measured with the ALICE experiment. The main sources of non-statistical fluctuations are characterized based purely on experimental data with an unbiased method, as well as by using single high $p_{\rm T}$ particles and simulated jets embedded into real Pb-Pb events and reconstructed with the anti-$k_{\rm T}$ jet finder. The influence of a low transverse momentum cut-off on particles used in the jet reconstruction is quantified by varying the minimum track $p_{\rm T}$ between 0.15 GeV/$c$ and 2 GeV/$c$. For embedded jets reconstructed from charged particles with $p_{\rm T} > 0.15$ GeV/$c$, the uncertainty in the reconstructed jet transverse momentum due to the heavy-ion background is measured to be 11.3 GeV/$c$ (standard deviation) for the 10% most central Pb-Pb collisions, slightly larger than the value of 11.0 GeV/$c$ measured using the unbiased method. For a higher particle transverse momentum threshold of 2 GeV/$c$, which will generate a stronger bias towards hard fragmentation in the jet finding process, the standard deviation of the fluctuations in the reconstructed jet transverse momentum is reduced to 4.8-5.0 GeV/$c$ for the 10% most central events. A non-Gaussian tail of the momentum uncertainty is observed and its impact on the reconstructed jet spectrum is evaluated for varying particle momentum thresholds, by folding the measured fluctuations with steeply falling spectra.
DeltaPT of random cones in the 10% most central events for three types of random cone probes with a minimum track PT of 0.15 GeV. (1) sampling all the events, (2) avoiding overlap with the leading jet candidate in the event and (3) after randomizing the (ETA,PHI) direction of the tracks hence destroying any correlations.
DeltaPT of random cones in the 10% most central events for three regions with a minimum track PT of 0.15 GeV. (1) the in-plane orientation where the angle between the reconstructed event plane and the random cone axis is < 30 degrees, (2) the out-of plane orientation where this angle is > 60 degrees and (3) the intermediate region where this angle is between 30 and 60 degrees.
Dependence of the standard deviation on the uncorrected charged particle multiplicity. As in figure 2 the data are given for three different random cone probes: (1) sampling all the events, (2) avoiding overlap with the leading jet candidate in the event and (3) after randomizing the (ETA,PHI) direction of the tracks hence destroying any correlations.
The production of muons from heavy flavour decays is measured at forward rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV collected with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The analysis is carried out on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity $L_{\rm int} = 16.5$ nb$^{-1}$. The transverse momentum and rapidity differential production cross sections of muons from heavy flavour decays are measured in the rapidity range 2.5 < y < 4, over the transverse momentum range 2 < $p_{\rm T}$ < 12 GeV/$c$. The results are compared to predictions based on perturbative QCD calculations.
pT-differential production cross section of muons from heavy flavour decays, in the rapidity range 2.5<y<4.
y-differential production cross section of muons from heavy flavour decays, in the range 2<pT<12 GeV/C.
pT-differential production cross section of muons from heavy flavour decays, in the rapidity range 2.5<y<2.8.
We present measurements of Underlying Event observables in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 and 7 TeV. The analysis is performed as a function of the highest charged-particle transverse momentum $p_{\rm T, LT}$ in the event. Different regions are defined with respect to the azimuthal direction of the leading (highest transverse momentum) track: Toward, Transverse and Away. The Toward and Away regions collect the fragmentation products of the hardest partonic interaction. The Transverse region is expected to be most sensitive to the Underlying Event activity. The study is performed with charged particles above three different $p_{\rm T}$ thresholds: 0.15, 0.5 and 1.0 GeV/$c$. In the Transverse region we observe an increase in the multiplicity of a factor 2-3 between the lower and higher collision energies, depending on the track $p){\rm T}$ threshold considered. Data are compared to Pythia 6.4, Pythia 8.1 and Phojet. On average, all models considered underestimate the multiplicity and summed $p_{\rm T}$ in the Transverse region by about 10-30%.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 900 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.15 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 7000 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.15 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 900 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.5 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
The ALICE experiment has measured the inclusive J/$\psi$ production in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}} } = 2.76$ TeV down to zero transverse momentum in the rapidity range $2.5 < y < 4$. A suppression of the inclusive J/$\psi$ yield in Pb-Pb is observed with respect to the one measured in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The nuclear modification factor, integrated over the 0-80% most central collisions, is $0.545 \pm 0.032 \rm{(stat.)} \pm 0.083 \rm{(syst.)}$ and does not exhibit a significant dependence on the collision centrality. These features appear significantly different from measurements at lower collision energies. Models including J/$\psi$ production from charm quarks in a deconfined partonic phase can describe our data.
Jpsi Nuclear Modification Factor (Raa) measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV in 2.5 < y < 4 and pt > 0 GeV/c, as a function of - the average number of participating nucleons (<Npart>), - the average number of participating nucleons (<Npart,w>) weigthed by the average number of binary collisions, - the mid-rapidity charged-particle density measured at pseudo-rapidity eta = 0 dNch,w/deta|eta=0 weigthed by the average number of binary collisions.
Centrality integrated (0%-80%) inclusive Jpsi Nuclear Modification Factor (Raa) measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV as a function of rapidity for two transverse momentum ranges.
Angular correlations between charged trigger and associated particles are measured by the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV for transverse momentum ranges within 0.5 < $p_{\rm T}^{\rm assoc}$ < $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ < 4 GeV/$c$. The correlations are measured over two units of pseudorapidity and full azimuthal angle in different intervals of event multiplicity, and expressed as associated yield per trigger particle. Two long-range ridge-like structures, one on the near side and one on the away side, are observed when the per-trigger yield obtained in low-multiplicity events is subtracted from the one in high-multiplicity events. The excess on the near-side is qualitatively similar to that recently reported by the CMS collaboration, while the excess on the away-side is reported for the first time. The two-ridge structure projected onto azimuthal angle is quantified with the second and third Fourier coefficients as well as by near-side and away-side yields and widths. The yields on the near side and on the away side are equal within the uncertainties for all studied event multiplicity and $p_{\rm T}$ bins, and the widths show no significant evolution with event multiplicity or $p_{\rm T}$. These findings suggest that the near-side ridge is accompanied by an essentially identical away-side ridge.
The Fourier coefficient V2 for different multiplicity classes and overlapping PT_trig and PT_assoc intervals. Note that all multiplicity classes have the values from the 60-100% multiplicity class subtracted.
The Fourier coefficient V3 for different multiplicity classes and overlapping PT_trig and PT_assoc intervals. Note that all multiplicity classes have the values from the 60-100% multiplicity class subtracted.
The near-side ridge yields per unit pseudorapidiy difference between the trigger and associated particle in regions of differing PT_trig and PT_assoc bins for different multiplicity classes. Note that all multiplicity classes have the values from the 60-100% multiplicity class subtracted.
The production of the prompt charm mesons $D^0$, $D^+$, $D^{*+}$, and their antiparticles, was measured with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC, at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76$ TeV per nucleon--nucleon collision. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production yields in the range $2<p_{\rm T}<16$ GeV/c at central rapidity, $|y|<0.5$, were used to calculate the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$ with respect to a proton-proton reference obtained from the cross section measured at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and scaled to $\sqrt{s}=2.76$ TeV. For the three meson species, $R_{AA}$ shows a suppression by a factor 3-4, for transverse momenta larger than 5 GeV/c in the 20% most central collisions. The suppression is reduced for peripheral collisions.
The transverse momentum distribution for prompt D0 mesons in the Centrality range 0-20%. The second (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the B feed-down contribution. The first (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the other sources.
The transverse momentum distribution for prompt D0 mesons in the Centrality range 40-80%. The second (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the B feed-down contribution. The first (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the other sources.
The transverse momentum distribution for prompt D+ mesons in the Centrality range 0-20%. The second (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the B feed-down contribution. The first (sys) error is the systematic uncertainty from the other sources.
In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, the correlations between the emitted particles can be used as a probe to gain insight into the charge creation mechanisms. In this Letter, we report the first results of such studies using the electric charge balance function in the relative pseudorapidity ($\Delta\eta$) and azimuthal angle ($\Delta\varphi$) in Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The width of the balance function decreases with growing centrality (i.e. for more central collisions) in both projections. This centrality dependence is not reproduced by HIJING, while AMPT, a model which incorporates strings and parton rescattering, exhibits qualitative agreement with the measured correlations in $\Delta\varphi$ but fails to describe the correlations in $\Delta\eta$. A thermal blast-wave model incorporating local charge conservation and tuned to describe the $p_{\rm T}$ spectra and v$_2$ measurements reported by ALICE, is used to fit the centrality dependence of the width of the balance function and to extract the average separation of balancing charges at freeze-out. The comparison of our results with measurements at lower energies reveals an ordering with $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$: the balance functions become narrower with increasing energy for all centralities. This is consistent with the effect of larger radial flow at the LHC energies but also with the late stage creation scenario of balancing charges. However, the relative decrease of the balance function widths in $\Delta\eta$ and $\Delta\varphi$ with centrality from the highest SPS to the LHC energy exhibits only small differences. This observation cannot be interpreted solely within the framework where the majority of the charge is produced at a later stage in the evolution of the heavy--ion collision.
The Balance Function as a function of the relative pseudorapidity of two charged particles for the centrality class 0-5%. Also shown in the second column is the result from the mixed data set.
The Balance Function as a function of the relative pseudorapidity of two charged particles for the centrality class 30-40%.
The Balance Function as a function of the relative pseudorapidity of two charged particles for the centrality class 70-80%.
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