The ALICE collaboration at the LHC reports measurement of the inclusive production cross section of electrons from semi-leptonic decays of beauty hadrons with rapidity $|y|<0.8$ and transverse momentum $1<p_{\mathrm{T}}<10$ GeV/$c$, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $ 2.76 TeV. Electrons not originating from semi-electronic decay of beauty hadrons are suppressed using the impact parameter of the corresponding tracks. The production cross section of beauty decay electrons is compared to the result obtained with an alternative method which uses the distribution of the azimuthal angle between heavy-flavour decay electrons and charged hadrons. Perturbative QCD calculations agree with the measured cross section within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The integrated visible cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{b} \rightarrow \mathrm{e}} = 3.47\pm0.40(\mathrm{stat})^{+1.12}_{-1.33}(\mathrm{sys})\pm0.07(\mathrm{norm}) \mu$b, was extrapolated to full phase space using Fixed Order plus Next-to-Leading Log (FONLL) predictions to obtain the total b$\bar{\mathrm{b}}$ production cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{b\bar{b}}} = 130\pm15.1(\mathrm{stat})^{+42.1}_{-49.8}(\mathrm{sys})^{+3.4}_{-3.1}(\mathrm{extr})\pm2.5(\mathrm{norm})\pm4.4(\mathrm{BR}) \mu$b.
We present the first wide-range measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density distribution, for different centralities (the 0-5%, 5-10%, 10-20%, and 20-30% most central events) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed using the full coverage of the ALICE detectors, $-5.0 < \eta < 5.5$, and employing a special analysis technique based on collisions arising from LHC "satellite" bunches. We present the pseudorapidity density as a function of the number of participating nucleons as well as an extrapolation to the total number of produced charged particles ($N_{\rm ch} = 17165 \pm 772$ for the 0-5% most central collisions). From the measured ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}\eta$ distribution we derive the rapidity density distribution, ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}y$, under simple assumptions. The rapidity density distribution is found to be significantly wider than the predictions of the Landau model. We assess the validity of longitudinal scaling by comparing to lower energy results from RHIC. Finally the mechanisms of the underlying particle production are discussed based on a comparison with various theoretical models.
The first measurements of the invariant differential cross sections of inclusive $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ meson production at mid-rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV are reported. The $\pi^0$ measurement covers the ranges $0.4<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ and $0.3<p_T<25$ GeV/$c$ for these two energies, respectively. The production of $\eta$ mesons was measured at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV in the range $0.4<p_T<15$ GeV/$c$. Next-to-Leading Order perturbative QCD calculations, which are consistent with the $\pi^0$ spectrum at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV, overestimate those of $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV, but agree with the measured $\eta/\pi^0$ ratio at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV.
The ratios of yields of anti-baryons to baryons probes the mechanisms of baryon-number transport. Results for $\bar{\rm p}/{\rm p}$, $\bar{\rm \Lambda}/{\rm \Lambda}$, $\rm\bar{\Xi}$$^{+}/{\rm \Xi}^{-}$ and $\rm\bar{\Omega}$$^{+}/{\rm \Omega}^{-}$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV, measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. Within the experimental uncertainties and ranges covered by our measurement, these ratios are independent of rapidity, transverse momentum and multiplicity for all measured energies. The results are compared to expectations from event generators, such as PYTHIA and HIJING-B, that are used to model the particle production in pp collisions. The energy dependence of $\bar{\rm p}/{\rm p}$, $\bar{\rm \Lambda}/{\rm \Lambda}$, $\rm\bar{\Xi}$$^{+}/{\rm \Xi^{-}}$ and $\rm\bar{\Omega}$$^{+}/{\rm \Omega^{-}}$, reaching values compatible with unity for $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV, complement the earlier $\bar{\rm p}/{\rm p}$ measurement of ALICE. These dependencies can be described by exchanges with the Regge-trajectory intercept of $\alpha_{\rm {J}} \approx 0.5$, which are suppressed with increasing rapidity interval ${\rm \Delta} y$. Any significant contribution of an exchange not suppressed at large ${\rm \Delta} y$ (reached at LHC energies) is disfavoured.