The transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) differential production cross section of the promptly-produced charm-strange baryon $\Xi_{\rm c}^{0}$ (and its charge conjugate $\overline{\Xi_{\rm c}^{0}}$) is measured at midrapidity via its hadronic decay into ${\rm \pi^{+}}\Xi^{-}$ in p$-$Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon$-$nucleon collision $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The $\Xi_{\rm c}^{0}$ nuclear modification factor ($R_{\rm pPb}$), calculated from the cross sections in pp and p$-$Pb collisions, is presented and compared with the $R_{\rm pPb}$ of $\Lambda_{\rm c}^{+}$ baryons. The ratios between the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross section of $\Xi_{\rm c}^{0}$ baryons and those of $\mathrm {D^0}$ mesons and $\Lambda_{\rm c}^{+}$ baryons are also reported and compared with results at forward and backward rapidity from the LHCb Collaboration. The measurements of the production cross section of prompt $\Xi^0_{\rm c}$ baryons are compared with a model based on perturbative QCD calculations of charm-quark production cross sections, which includes only cold nuclear matter effects in p$-$Pb collisions, and underestimates the measurement by a factor of about 50. This discrepancy is reduced when the data is compared with a model in which hadronisation is implemented via quark coalescence. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated cross section of prompt $\Xi^0_{\rm c}$-baryon production at midrapidity extrapolated down to $p_{\rm T}$ = 0 is also reported. These measurements offer insights and constraints for theoretical calculations of the hadronisation process. Additionally, they provide inputs for the calculation of the charm production cross section in p$-$Pb collisions at midrapidity.
This Letter presents the first measurement of the impact-parameter dependent angular anisotropy in the decay of coherently photoproduced $\rho^0$ mesons. The $\rho^0$ mesons are reconstructed through their decay into pion pairs. The measured anisotropy corresponds to the amplitude of the $\cos(2\phi)$ modulation, where $\phi$ is the angle between the two vectors formed by the sum and the difference of the transverse momenta of the pions, respectively. The measurement was performed by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC using data from ultraperipheral Pb$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV per nucleon pair. Different impact-parameter regions are selected by classifying the events in nuclear-breakup classes. The amplitude of the $\cos(2\phi)$ modulation is found to increase by about one order of magnitude from large to small impact parameters. Theoretical calculations describe the measured $\cos(2\phi)$ anisotropy and its impact-parameter dependence as the result of a quantum interference effect at the femtometer scale, arising from the ambiguity regarding which of the nuclei is the photon source in the interaction.
The multiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidity density of charged particles in proton-proton (pp) collisions at centre-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02, 7 and 13 TeV measured by ALICE is reported. The analysis relies on track segments measured in the midrapidity range ($|\eta| < 1.5$). Results are presented for inelastic events having at least one charged particle produced in the pseudorapidity interval $|\eta|<1$ ($\mathrm{INEL}_{>0}$). The multiplicity dependence of the pseudorapidy density of charged particles is measured with mid and forward rapidity multiplicity estimators, the latter being less affected by autocorrelations. A detailed comparison with predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC event generators is also presented. Both generators provide a good description of the data.
Measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = $5.02$ and $2.76$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV is measured at forward rapidity ($2.5 < y <4$) as a function of transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$ in central, semi-central, and peripheral collisions over a wide $p_{\rm T}$ interval, $3 < p_{\rm T} < 20$ GeV/$c$, in which muons from beauty-hadron decays are expected to take over from charm as the dominant source at high $p_{\rm T}$ ($p_{\rm T} > 7$ GeV/$c$). The $R_{\rm AA}$ shows an increase of the suppression of the yields of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays with increasing centrality. A suppression by a factor of about three is observed in the $10\%$ most central collisions. The $R_{\rm AA}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 is similar to that at 2.76 TeV. The precise $R_{\rm AA}$ measurements have the potential to distinguish between model predictions implementing different mechanisms of parton energy loss in the high-density medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. They place important constraints for the understanding of the heavy-quark interaction with the hot and dense QCD medium.
The transverse structure of jets was studied via jet fragmentation transverse momentum ($j_{\rm{T}}$) distributions, obtained using two-particle correlations in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions, measured with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The highest transverse momentum particle in each event is used as the trigger particle and the region $3 < p_{\rm{Tt}} < 15$ GeV/$c$ is explored in this study. The measured distributions show a clear narrow Gaussian component and a wide non-Gaussian one. Based on Pythia simulations, the narrow component can be related to non-perturbative hadronization and the wide component to quantum chromodynamical splitting. The width of the narrow component shows a weak dependence on the transverse momentum of the trigger particle, in agreement with the expectation of universality of the hadronization process. On the other hand, the width of the wide component shows a rising trend suggesting increased branching for higher transverse momentum. The results obtained in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV and in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV are compatible within uncertainties and hence no significant cold nuclear matter effects are observed. The results are compared to previous measurements from CCOR and PHENIX as well as to Pythia 8 and Herwig 7 simulations.
We have studied the transverse-momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) dependence of the inclusive J/$\psi$ production in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, in three center-of-mass rapidity ($y_{\rm cms}$) regions, down to zero $p_{\rm T}$. Results in the forward and backward rapidity ranges ($2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$ and $-4.46 <y_{\rm cms}< -2.96$) are obtained by studying the J/$\psi$ decay to $\mu^+\mu^-$, while the mid-rapidity region ($-1.37 < y_{\rm cms} < 0.43$) is investigated by measuring the ${\rm e}^+{\rm e}^-$ decay channel. The $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the J/$\psi$ production cross section and nuclear modification factor are presented for each of the rapidity intervals, as well as the J/$\psi$ mean $p_{\rm T}$ values. Forward and mid-rapidity results show a suppression of the J/$\psi$ yield, with respect to pp collisions, which decreases with increasing $p_{\rm T}$. At backward rapidity no significant J/$\psi$ suppression is observed. Theoretical models including a combination of cold nuclear matter effects such as shadowing and partonic energy loss, are in fair agreement with the data, except at forward rapidity and low transverse momentum. The implications of the p-Pb results for the evaluation of cold nuclear matter effects on J/$\psi$ production in Pb-Pb collisions are also discussed.
This article presents measurements of the groomed jet radius and momentum splitting fraction in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Inclusive charged-particle jets are reconstructed at midrapidity using the anti-$k_{\rm{T}}$ algorithm for transverse momentum $60< p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm{ch\; jet}}<80$ GeV/$c$. We report results using two different grooming algorithms: soft drop and, for the first time, dynamical grooming. For each grooming algorithm, a variety of grooming settings are used in order to explore the impact of collinear radiation on these jet substructure observables. These results are compared to perturbative calculations that include resummation of large logarithms at all orders in the strong coupling constant. We find good agreement of the theoretical predictions with the data for all grooming settings considered.
The measurements of the production of prompt ${\rm D^0}$, ${\rm D^+}$, ${\rm D^{*+}}$, and ${{\rm D^+_s}}$ mesons in proton--proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are reported. D mesons were reconstructed at mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.5$) via their hadronic decay channels ${\rm D}^0 \to {\rm K}^-\pi^+$, ${\rm D}^+\to {\rm K}^-\pi^+\pi^+$, ${\rm D}^{*+} \to {\rm D}^0 \pi^+ \to {\rm K}^- \pi^+ \pi^+$, ${\rm D^{+}_{s}\to \phi\pi^+\to K^{+} K^{-} \pi^{+}}$, and their charge conjugates. The production cross sections were measured in the transverse momentum interval $0<p_{\rm T}<36~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ for ${\rm D^0}$, $1<p_{\rm T}<36~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ for ${\rm D^+}$ and ${\rm D^{*+}}$, and in $2<p_{\rm T}<24~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ for ${{\rm D^+_s}}$ mesons. Thanks to the higher integrated luminosity, an analysis in finer $p_{\rm T}$ bins with respect to the previous measurements at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV was performed, allowing for a more detailed description of the cross-section $p_{\rm T}$ shape. The measured $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections are compared to the results at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and to four different perturbative QCD calculations. Its rapidity dependence is also tested combining the ALICE and LHCb measurements in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV. This measurement will allow for a more accurate determination of the nuclear modification factor in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions performed at the same nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy.
The production of charged pions, kaons and (anti)protons has been measured at mid-rapidity ($-0.5 y 0$) in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Exploiting particle identification capabilities at high transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$), the previously published $p_{\rm T}$ spectra have been extended to include measurements up to 20 GeV/$c$ for seven event multiplicity classes. The $p_{\rm T}$ spectra for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV, needed to interpolate a pp reference spectrum, have also been extended up to 20 GeV/$c$ to measure the nuclear modification factor ($R_{\rm pPb}$) in non-single diffractive p-Pb collisions. At intermediate transverse momentum ($2 p_{\rm T} 10$\,GeV/$c$) the proton-to-pion ratio increases with multiplicity in p-Pb collisions, a similar effect is not present in the kaon-to-pion ratio. The $p_{\rm T}$ dependent structure of such increase is qualitatively similar to those observed in pp and heavy-ion collisions. At high $p_{\rm T}$ ($>10$ GeV/$c$), the particle ratios are consistent with those reported for pp and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC energies. At intermediate $p_{\rm T}$ the (anti)proton $R_{\rm pPb}$ shows a Cronin-like enhancement, while pions and kaons show little or no nuclear modification. At high $p_{\rm T}$ the charged pion, kaon and (anti)proton $R_{\rm pPb}$ are consistent with unity within statistical and systematic uncertainties.
The production of strange hadrons (K$^{0}_{\rm S}$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^{\pm}$, and $\Omega^{\pm}$), baryon-to-meson ratios ($\Lambda/{\rm K}^0_{\rm S}$, $\Xi/{\rm K}^0_{\rm S }$, and $\Omega/{\rm K}^0_{\rm S}$), and baryon-to-baryon ratios ($\Xi/\Lambda$, $\Omega/\Lambda$, and $\Omega/\Xi$) associated with jets and the underlying event were measured as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The inclusive production of the same particle species and the corresponding ratios are also reported. The production of multi-strange hadrons, $\Xi^{\pm}$ and $\Omega^{\pm}$, and their associated particle ratios in jets and in the underlying event are measured for the first time. In both pp and p-Pb collisions, the baryon-to-meson and baryon-to-baryon yield ratios measured in jets differ from the inclusive particle production for low and intermediate hadron $p_{\rm T}$ (0.6$-$6 GeV/$c$). Ratios measured in the underlying event are in turn similar to those measured for inclusive particle production. In pp collisions, the particle production in jets is compared with PYTHIA 8 predictions with three colour-reconnection implementation modes. None of them fully reproduces the data in the measured hadron $p_{\rm T}$ region. The maximum deviation is observed for $\Xi^{\pm}$ and $\Omega^{\pm}$, which reaches a factor of about six. In p-Pb collisions, there is no significant event-multiplicity dependence for particle production in jets, in contrast to what is observed in the underlying event. The presented measurements provide novel constraints on hadronisation and its Monte Carlo description. In particular, they demonstrate that the fragmentation of jets alone is insufficient to describe the strange and multi-strange particle production in hadronic collisions at LHC energies.