Correlations induced by quantum statistics are sensitive to the spatio-temporal extent as well as dynamics of particle emitting sources in heavy-ion collisions. In addition, such correlations can be used to search for the presence of a coherent component of pion production. Two and three-pion correlations of same and mixed-charge are measured at low relative momentum to estimate the coherent fraction of charged pions in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV at the LHC with ALICE. The genuine three-pion quantum statistics correlation is found to be suppressed relative to the two-pion correlation based on the assumption of fully chaotic pion emission. The suppression is observed to decrease with triplet momentum. The observed suppression at low triplet momentum may correspond to a coherent fraction in charged pion emission of 23% $\pm$ 8%.
C2 versus qinv for same-charge pions in six kT intervals. 0-5% centrality.
C2 versus qinv for mixed-charge pions in six kT intervals. 0-5% centrality.
C2 versus qinv for same-charge pions in six kT intervals. 45-50% centrality.
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 p-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 an 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 p--$\Xi^{-}$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$--$\overline{\Xi}^{+}$ correlation function.
The p--$\Xi^{-}$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$--$\overline{\Xi}^{+}$ correlation function.
The p--$\Omega^{-}$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$--$\overline{\Omega}^{+}$ correlation function.
We report the first measurement of the net-charge fluctuations in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV, measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The dynamical fluctuations per unit entropy are observed to decrease when going from peripheral to central collisions. An additional reduction in the amount of fluctuations is seen in comparison to the results from lower energies. We examine the dependence of fluctuations on the pseudorapidity interval, which may account for the dilution of fluctuations during the evolution of the system. We find that the fluctuations at LHC are smaller compared to the measurements at the Relativistic heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and as such, closer to what has been theoretically predicted for the formation of Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP).
The measured NU(+-DYN) as a function of the centrality of the collisions, expressed as the number of participating nucleons, for two values of midrapidity range.
NU(+-DYN), corrected for charge conservation and finite acceptance effects, as a function of the centrality of the collisions, expressed as the number of participating nucleons, for two values of midrapidity range.
The measured and corrected NU(+-DYN) in P P collisions for two values of midrapidity range.
Angular correlations between unidentified charged trigger particles and various species of charged associated particles (unidentified particles, pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons) are measured by the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV in the transverse-momentum range $0.3 < p_{\rm T} < 4$ GeV/$c$. The correlations expressed as associated yield per trigger particle are obtained in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta_{\rm lab}|<0.8$. Fourier coefficients are extracted from the long-range correlations projected onto the azimuthal angle difference and studied as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ and in intervals of event multiplicity. In high-multiplicity events, the second-order coefficient for protons, $v_2^p$, is observed to be smaller than that for pions, $v_2^\pi$, up to about $p_{\rm T} = 2$ GeV/$c$. To reduce correlations due to jets, the per-trigger yield measured in low-multiplicity events is subtracted from that in high-multiplicity events. A two-ridge structure is obtained for all particle species. The Fourier decomposition of this structure shows that the second-order coefficients for pions and kaons are similar. The $v_2^p$ is found to be smaller at low $p_{\rm T}$ and larger at higher $p_{\rm T}$ than $v_2^pi$, with a crossing occurring at about 2 GeV. This is qualitatively similar to the elliptic-flow pattern observed in heavy-ion collisions. A mass ordering effect at low transverse momenta is consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic model calculations assuming a collectively expanding system.
The Fourier coefficients V2(2PC,sub) extracted for all charged particles as a function of PT from the correlation in the 0-20% multiplicity class after subraction of the correlation from the 60-100% event class.
The Fourier coefficients V2(2PC,sub) extracted for charged pions as a function of PT from the correlation in the 0-20% multiplicity class after subraction of the correlation from the 60-100% event class.
The Fourier coefficients V2(2PC,sub) extracted for charged kaons as a function of PT from the correlation in the 0-20% multiplicity class after subraction of the correlation from the 60-100% event class.
The study of the strength and behaviour of the antikaon-nucleon ($\mathrm{\overline{K}N}$) interaction constitutes one of the key focuses of the strangeness sector in low-energy Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). In this letter a unique high-precision measurement of the strong interaction between kaons and protons, close and above the kinematic threshold, is presented. The femtoscopic measurements of the correlation function at low pair-frame relative momentum of (K$^+$ p $\oplus$ K$^-$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$) and (K$^-$ p $\oplus$ K$^+$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$) pairs measured in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5, 7 and 13 TeV are reported. A structure observed around a relative momentum of 58 MeV/$c$ in the measured correlation function of (K$^-$ p $\oplus$ K$^+$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}$) with a significance of 4.4. $\sigma$ constitutes the first experimental evidence for the opening of the $(\mathrm{\overline{K}^0 n} \oplus \mathrm{K^0 \overline{n}})$ isospin breaking channel due to the mass difference between charged and neutral kaons. The measured correlation functions have been compared to J\"{u}lich and Kyoto models in addition to the Coulomb potential. The high-precision data at low relative momenta presented in this work prove femtoscopy to be a powerful complementary tool to scattering experiments and provide new constraints above the $\mathrm{\overline{K}N}$ threshold for low-energy QCD chiral models.
K-p correlation function in p-p collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5$ TeV.
K-p correlation function in p-p collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV.
K-p correlation function in p-p collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV.
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%.
We report on the first femtoscopic measurement of baryon pairs, such as p-p, p-$\Lambda$ and $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$, measured by ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. This study demonstrates the feasibility of such measurements in pp collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. The femtoscopy method is employed to constrain the hyperon-nucleon and hyperon-hyperon interactions, which are still rather poorly understood. A new method to evaluate the influence of residual correlations induced by the decays of resonances and experimental impurities is hereby presented. The p-p, p-$\Lambda$ and $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$ correlation functions were fitted simultaneously with the help of a new tool developed specifically for the femtoscopy analysis in small colliding systems 'Correlation Analysis Tool using the Schr\"odinger Equation' (CATS). Within the assumption that in pp collisions the three particle pairs originate from a common source, its radius is found to be equal to $r_{0} = 1.144\pm0.019$ (stat) $^{+0.069}_{-0.012}$ (syst) fm. The sensitivity of the measured p-$\Lambda$ correlation is tested against different scattering parameters which are defined by the interaction among the two particles, but the statistics is not sufficient yet to discriminate among different models. The measurement of the $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$ correlation function constrains the phase space spanned by the effective range and scattering length of the strong interaction. Discrepancies between the measured scattering parameters and the resulting correlation functions at LHC and RHIC energies are discussed in the context of various models.
The p$-$p $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\overline{\mathrm{p}}$ correlation function.
The p$-\Lambda$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\overline{\Lambda}$ correlation function.
The $\Lambda-\Lambda$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\Lambda}-\overline{\Lambda}$ correlation function.
We present the results of three-dimensional femtoscopic analyses for charged and neutral kaons recorded by ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV. Femtoscopy is used to measure the space-time characteristics of particle production from the effects of quantum statistics and final-state interactions in two-particle correlations. Kaon femtoscopy is an important supplement to that of pions because it allows one to distinguish between different model scenarios working equally well for pions. In particular, we compare the measured 3D kaon radii with a purely hydrodynamical calculation and a model where the hydrodynamic phase is followed by a hadronic rescattering stage. The former predicts an approximate transverse mass ($m_{\mathrm{T}}$) scaling of source radii obtained from pion and kaon correlations. This $m_{\mathrm{T}}$ scaling appears to be broken in our data, which indicates the importance of the hadronic rescattering phase at LHC energies. A $k_{\mathrm{T}}$ scaling of pion and kaon source radii is observed instead. The time of maximal emission of the system is estimated using the three-dimensional femtoscopic analysis for kaons. The measured emission time is larger than that of pions. Our observation is well supported by the hydrokinetic model predictions.
Out projection of raw 3D LCMS K+- K+- correlation function for 0.2 < kT < 0.4 GeV/c bin.
Side projection of raw 3D LCMS K+- K+- correlation function for 0.2 < kT < 0.4 GeV/c bin
Long projection of raw 3D LCMS K+- K+- correlation function for 0.2 < kT < 0.4 GeV/c bin
We present the first ever measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the K$^0_{\rm S}$ and K$^{\rm \pm}$ particles. The analysis was performed on the data from Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding via the $a_0(980)$ resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for K$^0_{\rm S}$K$^{\rm -}$ are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for K$^0_{\rm S}$K$^{\rm +}$. Comparing the results of the present study with those from published identical-kaon femtoscopic studies by ALICE, mass and coupling parameters for the $a_0$ resonance are constrained. Our results are also compatible with the interpretation of the $a_0$ having a tetraquark structure over that of a diquark.
Raw K0s K+ correlation function for all kT bin
Raw K0s K+ correlation function for kT < 0.675 GeV/c bin
Raw K0s K+ correlation function for kT > 0.675 GeV/c bin
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.
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