Date

First Measurement of $a^0_2(1320)$ Polarized Photoproduction Cross Section

The GlueX collaboration Afzal, F. ; Akondi, C.S. ; Albrecht, M. ; et al.
2025.
Inspire Record 2865315 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.156806

We measure for the first time the differential photoproduction cross section $d\sigma/dt$ of the $a_2(1320)$ meson at an average photon beam energy of 8.5~GeV, using data with an integrated luminosity of 104~pb$^{-1}$ collected by the GlueX experiment. We fully reconstruct the $\gamma p \to \eta\pi^0 p$ reaction and perform a partial-wave analysis in the $a_2(1320)$ mass region with amplitudes that incorporate the linear polarization of the beam. This allows us to separate for the first time the contributions of natural- and unnatural-parity exchanges. These measurements provide novel information about the photoproduction mechanism, which is critical for the search for spin-exotic states.

7 data tables

$a_2(1320)$ parity asymmetry, $P_{\sigma}$, in bins of four-momentum transfer. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic.

$a_2(1320)$ differential cross section split into different reflectivity components, $\frac{d\sigma^+}{dt}$ and $\frac{d\sigma^-}{dt}$, in bins of four-momentum transfer. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic.

$a_2(1320)$ differential cross section in the m=-1 projection split into different reflectivity components, $\frac{d\sigma^+_{-1}}{dt}$ and $\frac{d\sigma^-_{-1}}{dt}$, in bins of four-momentum transfer. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic.

More…

Measurement of photonuclear jet production in ultra-peripheral Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 5.02$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Aakvaag, Erlend ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 111 (2025) 052006, 2025.
Inspire Record 2829427 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.156979

In ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions at the LHC, each nucleus acts a sources of high-energy real photons that can scatter off the opposing nucleus in ultra-peripheral photonuclear ($\gamma+A$) collisions. Hard scattering processes initiated by the photons in such collisions provide a novel method for probing nuclear parton distributions in a kinematic region not easily accessible to other measurements. ATLAS has measured production of dijet and multi-jet final states in ultra-peripheral Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 5.02$ TeV using a data set recorded in 2018 with an integrated luminosity of 1.72 $\text{nb}^{-1}$. Photonuclear final states are selected by requiring a rapidity gap in the photon direction; this selects events where one of the outgoing nuclei remains intact. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-$k_\text{t}$ algorithm with radius parameter, $R = 0.4$. Triple-differential cross-sections, unfolded for detector response, are measured and presented using two sets of kinematic variables. The first set consists of the total transverse momentum ($H_\text{T}$),rapidity, and mass of the jet system. The second set uses $H_\text{T}$ and particle-level nuclear and photon parton momentum fractions, $x_\text{A}$ and $z_{\gamma}$, respectively. The results are compared with leading-order (LO) perturbative QCD calculations of photonuclear jet production cross-sections, where all LO predictions using existing fits fall below the data in the shadowing region. More detailed theoretical comparisons will allow these results to strongly constrain nuclear parton distributions, and these data provide results from the LHC directly comparable to early physics results at the planned Electron-Ion Collider.

3 data tables

The fraction of photonuclear jet events passing the fiducial requirements in which the photon-emitting nucleus does not break up as a function of \zg. The systematic uncertainties are not symmetrized, and correlations in uncertainties are neglected for both the total systematic uncertainty and statistical uncertainty.

Fully unfolded triple-differential cross-sections as a function of $H_\text{T}$, $y_\text{jets}$, and $m_\text{jets}$. Systematic uncertainties are decomposed into symmetrized nuisance parameters, where parameters labelled "Corr" are fully correlated bin-to-bin, while parameters labelled "Uncorr" should be treated as un-correlated bin-to-bin. These cross-sections are not corrected for the effects of additional nuclear break-up. Values for the total fiducial cross-section in each bin are reported with full statistical and systematic uncertainties. Fractions of the total bin volume occupied by the fiducial region, fractions of the total cross-section in that bin satisfying fiducial requirements, and mean bin values for each axis variable are derived from Pythia 8 Monte Carlo and reported as well. For more details on these quantities, see Appendix B.

Fully unfolded triple-differential cross-sections as a function of $H_\text{T}$, $x_\text{A}$, and $z_{\gamma}$. Systematic uncertainties are decomposed into symmetrized nuisance parameters, where parameters labelled "Corr" are fully correlated bin-to-bin, while parameters labelled "Uncorr" should be treated as un-correlated bin-to-bin. These cross-sections are not corrected for the effects of additional nuclear break-up. Values for the total fiducial cross-section in each bin are reported with full statistical and systematic uncertainties. Fractions of the total bin volume occupied by the fiducial region, fractions of the total cross-section in that bin satisfying fiducial requirements, and mean bin values for each axis variable are derived from Pythia 8 Monte Carlo and reported as well. For more details on these quantities, see Appendix B.


Search for magnetic monopole pair production in ultraperipheral Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\textrm{NN}}}=5.36$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Aakvaag, Erlend ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 134 (2025) 061803, 2025.
Inspire Record 2819870 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.153408

This Letter presents a search for highly ionizing magnetic monopoles in 262$~\mu$b$^{-1}$ of ultraperipheral Pb+Pb collision data at $\sqrt{s_{_\textrm{NN}}}=5.36$ TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. A new methodology that exploits the properties of clusters of hits reconstructed in the innermost silicon detector layers is introduced to study highly ionizing particles in heavy-ion data. No significant excess above the background, which is estimated using a data-driven technique, is observed. Using a nonperturbative semiclassical model, upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the cross-section for pair production of monopoles with a single Dirac magnetic charge in the mass range of 20-150 GeV. The search significantly improves on the previous cross-section limits for production of low-mass monopoles in ultraperipheral Pb+Pb collisions.

1 data table

Expected and observed cross-section upper limits computed using the CL$_{s}$ method for $|q_{m}| = 1 g_{\textrm{D}}$ and assuming FPA model


Disentangling sources of momentum fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Aakvaag, Erlend ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 133 (2024) 252301, 2024.
Inspire Record 2806288 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.153671

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the event-wise average transverse momentum ($P([p_{\mathrm{T}}])$). Distinguishing between contributions from fluctuations in the size of the nuclear overlap area (geometrical component) and other sources at fixed size (intrinsic component) presents a challenge. Here, these two components are distinguished by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of $P([p_{\mathrm{T}}])$ in $^{208}$Pb+$^{208}$Pb and $^{129}$Xe+$^{129}$Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{{\mathrm{NN}}}} = 5.02$ and 5.44 TeV, respectively, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. All observables show distinct changes in behavior in ultra-central collisions, where the geometrical variations are suppressed as the overlap area reaches its maximum. These results demonstrate a new technique to disentangle geometrical and intrinsic fluctuations, enabling constraints on initial condition and properties of the quark-gluon plasma, such as the speed of sound.

42 data tables

Data from Figure 1, panel a, $\left\langle[p_{T}]\right\rangle$ vs $N_{ch}$ for Pb+Pb collisions, 0.5 $ <p_{T}< $ 5 GeV/c, $|\eta|< $ 2.5

Data from Figure 1, panel b, $\left\langle[p_{T}]\right\rangle$ vs $N_{ch}$ for Pb+Pb collisions, 0.5 $ <p_{T}< $ 5 GeV/c, $|\eta|< $ 2.5

Data from Figure 1, panel b, $\left\langle[p_{T}]\right\rangle$ vs $N_{ch}$ for Xe+Xe collisions, 0.5 $ <p_{T}< $ 5 GeV/c, $|\eta|< $ 2.5

More…

An Upper Limit on the Photoproduction Cross Section of the Spin-Exotic $\pi_1(1600)$

The GlueX collaboration Afzal, F. ; Akondi, C.S. ; Albrecht, M. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 133 (2024) 261903, 2024.
Inspire Record 2804215 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.153410

The spin-exotic hybrid meson $\pi_{1}(1600)$ is predicted to have a large decay rate to the $\omega\pi\pi$ final state. Using 76.6~pb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the GlueX detector, we measure the cross sections for the reactions $\gamma p \to \omega \pi^+ \pi^- p$, $\gamma p \to \omega \pi^0 \pi^0 p$, and $\gamma p\to\omega\pi^-\pi^0\Delta^{++}$ in the range $E_\gamma =$ 8-10 GeV. Using isospin conservation, we set the first upper limits on the photoproduction cross sections of the $\pi^{0}_{1}(1600)$ and $\pi^{-}_{1}(1600)$. We combine these limits with lattice calculations of decay widths and find that photoproduction of $\eta'\pi$ is the most sensitive two-body system to search for the $\pi_1(1600)$.

3 data tables

Measured $\sigma(\gamma p\to\omega\pi^+\pi^-p)$ values for $8<E_\gamma<10$ GeV and $0.1<-t<0.5$ (GeV$^2$). There are normalization uncertainties that are 100% correlated between the three cross section measurements. These include 5% for the luminosity, 13.5% for the tracking efficiency, and 8.1% for the photon efficiency.

Measured $\sigma(\gamma p\to\omega\pi^0\pi^0p)$ values for $8<E_\gamma<10$ GeV and $0.1<-t<0.5$ (GeV$^2$). There are normalization uncertainties that are 100% correlated between the three cross section measurements. These include 5% for the luminosity, 9.1% for the tracking efficiency, and 24.3% for the photon efficiency.

Measured $\sigma(\gamma p\to\omega\pi^-\pi^0\Delta^{++})$ values for $8<E_\gamma<10$ GeV and $0.1<-t<0.5$ (GeV$^2$). There are normalization uncertainties that are 100% correlated between the three cross section measurements. These include 5% for the luminosity, 16% for the tracking efficiency, and 16.3% for the photon efficiency.


Version 2
Measurement of Spin-Density Matrix Elements in $\Delta^{++}(1232)$ photoproduction

The GlueX collaboration Afzal, F. ; Akondi, C.S. ; Albrecht, M. ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 863 (2025) 139368, 2025.
Inspire Record 2799639 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.153414

We measure the spin-density matrix elements (SDMEs) of the $\Delta^{++}(1232)$ in the photoproduction reaction $\gamma p \to \pi^-\Delta^{++}(1232)$ with the GlueX experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The measurement uses a linearly--polarized photon beam with energies from $8.2$ to $8.8$~GeV and the statistical precision of the SDMEs exceeds the previous measurement by three orders of magnitude for the momentum transfer squared region below $1.4$ GeV$^2$. The data are sensitive to the previously undetermined relative sign between couplings in existing Regge-exchange models. Linear combinations of the extracted SDMEs allow for a decomposition into natural and unnatural--exchange amplitudes. We find that the unnatural exchange plays an important role in the low momentum transfer region.

2 data tables

Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\Delta(1232)^{++}$ in the Gottfried-Jackson system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.

Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\Delta(1232)^{++}$ in the Gottfried-Jackson system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic.


Observation of $t\bar{t}$ production in the lepton+jets and dilepton channels in $p$+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=8.16$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Aakvaag, Erlend ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; et al.
JHEP 11 (2024) 101, 2024.
Inspire Record 2784411 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.153893

This paper reports the observation of top-quark pair production in proton-lead collisions in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed using 165 nb$^{-1}$ of $p$+Pb data collected at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=8.16$ TeV in 2016. Events are categorised in two analysis channels, consisting of either events with exactly one lepton (electron or muon) and at least four jets, or events with two opposite-charge leptons and at least two jets. In both channels at least one $b$-tagged jet is also required. Top-quark pair production is observed with a significance over five standard deviations in each channel. The top-quark pair production cross-section is measured to be $\sigma_{t\bar{t}}= 58.1\pm 2.0\;\mathrm{(stat.)\;^{+4.8}_{-4.4} \;\mathrm{(syst.)}}\;\mathrm{nb}$, with a total uncertainty of 9%. In addition, the nuclear modification factor is measured to be $R_{p\mathrm{A}} = 1.090\pm0.039\;(\mathrm{stat.})\;^{+0.094}_{-0.087}\;(\mathrm{syst.})$. The measurements are found to be in good agreement with theory predictions involving nuclear parton distribution functions.

18 data tables

The figure shows the pre-fit distribution of events as a function of $H_{\mathrm{T}}^{\ell,j} = \sum_{\ell,j} p_{T}^{\ell,j}$, scalar sum of $p_T$ for all jets and leptons in the $\ell+$jets channel, in proton-lead (p+Pb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 8.16$ TeV, with an integrated luminosity of 165 nb$^{-1}$. The data correspond to the $1\ell 1b$ $e$+jets channel in a pre-fit configuration. The stacked histograms represent different processes contributing to the event yield, including top quark pair production ($t\bar{t}$), single top, $W$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, $Z$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, diboson, and fake lepton backgrounds.

The figure shows the post-fit distribution of events as a function of $H_{\mathrm{T}}^{\ell,j} = \sum_{\ell,j} p_{T}^{\ell,j}$, scalar sum of $p_T$ for all jets and leptons in the $\ell+$jets channel, in proton-lead (p+Pb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 8.16$ TeV, with an integrated luminosity of 165 nb$^{-1}$. The data correspond to the $1\ell 1b$ $e$+jets channel in a pre-fit configuration. The stacked histograms represent different processes contributing to the event yield, including top quark pair production ($t\bar{t}$), single top, $W$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, $Z$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, diboson, and fake lepton backgrounds.

The figure shows the pre-fit distribution of events as a function of $H_{\mathrm{T}}^{\ell,j} = \sum_{\ell,j} p_{T}^{\ell,j}$, scalar sum of $p_T$ for all jets and leptons in the $\ell+$jets channel, in proton-lead (p+Pb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 8.16$ TeV, with an integrated luminosity of 165 nb$^{-1}$. The data correspond to the $1\ell 1b$ $\mu$+jets channel in a pre-fit configuration. The stacked histograms represent different processes contributing to the event yield, including top quark pair production ($t\bar{t}$), single top, $W$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, $Z$ boson production with $b$, $c$, and light quarks, diboson, and fake lepton backgrounds.

More…

Measurement of the centrality dependence of the dijet yield in $p$+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}$ = 8.16 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abeling, Kira ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 132 (2024) 102301, 2024.
Inspire Record 2693068 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.151163

The measurement of hard scatterings in proton-nucleus collisions has resulted in a greater understanding of both the proton and nuclear structure. ATLAS measured the centrality dependence of the dijet yield using 165 nb$^{-1}$ of $p$+Pb data collected at $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}$ = 8.16 TeV in 2016. The event centrality, which reflects the $p$+Pb impact parameter, is characterized by the total transverse energy registered in the Pb-going side of the forward calorimeter. The central-to-peripheral ratio of the scaled dijet yields, $R_\mathrm{CP}$, is evaluated, and the results are presented as a function of variables that reflect the kinematics of the initial hard parton scattering process. The $R_\mathrm{CP}$ shows a scaling with the Bjorken-$x$ of the parton originating from the proton, $x_p$, while no such trend is observed as a function of $x_\mathrm{Pb}$. This analysis provides unique input to understanding the role of small proton spatial configurations in $p$+Pb collisions by covering parton momentum fractions from the valence region down to $x_p \sim 10^{-3}$ and $x_\mathrm{Pb}\sim 4\cdot10^{-4}$.

63 data tables

$R_\text{CP}$ plotted as a function of approximated $x_p$ for $-3.0 < y_b < -2.0$ and $0.0 < y^* < 1.0$, constructed using $\langle y_{\text{b}} \rangle$ and $\langle y^{*} \rangle$. The proton-going direction is defined by $y_{\text{b}} > 0$.

$R_\text{CP}$ plotted as a function of approximated $x_p$ for $-2.0 < y_b < -1.0$ and $0.0 < y^* < 1.0$, constructed using $\langle y_{\text{b}} \rangle$ and $\langle y^{*} \rangle$. The proton-going direction is defined by $y_{\text{b}} > 0$.

$R_\text{CP}$ plotted as a function of approximated $x_p$ for $-2.0 < y_b < -1.0$ and $1.0 < y^* < 2.0$, constructed using $\langle y_{\text{b}} \rangle$ and $\langle y^{*} \rangle$. The proton-going direction is defined by $y_{\text{b}} > 0$.

More…

Version 2
Measurement of Spin-Density Matrix Elements in $\rho(770)$ Production with a Linearly Polarized Photon Beam at $E_\gamma = 8.2\,-\,8.8\,\text{GeV}$

The GlueX collaboration Adhikari, S. ; Afzal, F. ; Akondi, C.S. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 108 (2023) 055204, 2023.
Inspire Record 2660186 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.140672

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab studies photoproduction of mesons using linearly polarized $8.5\,\text{GeV}$ photons impinging on a hydrogen target which is contained within a detector with near-complete coverage for charged and neutral particles. We present measurements of spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of the vector meson $\rho$(770). The statistical precision achieved exceeds that of previous experiments for polarized photoproduction in this energy range by orders of magnitude. We confirm a high degree of $s$-channel helicity conservation at small squared four-momentum transfer $t$ and are able to extract the $t$-dependence of natural and unnatural-parity exchange contributions to the production process in detail. We confirm the dominance of natural-parity exchange over the full $t$ range. We also find that helicity amplitudes in which the helicity of the incident photon and the photoproduced $\rho(770)$ differ by two units are negligible for $-t<0.5\,\text{GeV}^{2}/c^{2}$.

2 data tables

Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\rho(770)$ in the helicity system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.

Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\rho(770)$ in the helicity system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.


Measurement of the J/$\psi $ photoproduction cross section over the full near-threshold kinematic region

The GlueX collaboration Adhikari, S. ; Afzal, F. ; Akondi, C.S. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 108 (2023) 025201, 2023.
Inspire Record 2649988 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.140802

We report the total and differential cross sections for $J/\psi$ photoproduction with the large acceptance GlueX spectrometer for photon beam energies from the threshold at 8.2~GeV up to 11.44~GeV and over the full kinematic range of momentum transfer squared, $t$. Such coverage facilitates the extrapolation of the differential cross sections to the forward ($t = 0$) point beyond the physical region. The forward cross section is used by many theoretical models and plays an important role in understanding $J/\psi$ photoproduction and its relation to the $J/\psi-$proton interaction. These measurements of $J/\psi$ photoproduction near threshold are also crucial inputs to theoretical models that are used to study important aspects of the gluon structure of the proton, such as the gluon Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) of the proton, the mass radius of the proton, and the trace anomaly contribution to the proton mass. We observe possible structures in the total cross section energy dependence and find evidence for contributions beyond gluon exchange in the differential cross section close to threshold, both of which are consistent with contributions from open-charm intermediate states.

4 data tables

$\gamma p \rightarrow J/\psi p$ total cross sections in bins of beam energy. The first uncertainties are statistical, and the second are systematic. There is an additional fully correlated systematic uncertainty of 19.5% on the total cross section, not included here.

$\gamma p \rightarrow J/\psi p$ differential cross sections 8.2–9.28 GeV beam energy range, average $t$ and beam energy in bins of $t$. The first cross section uncertainties are statistical, and the second are systematic. The overall average beam energy is 8.93 GeV. There is an additional fully correlated systematic uncertainty of 19.5% on the total cross section, not included here.

$\gamma p \rightarrow J/\psi p$ differential cross sections 9.28–10.36 GeV beam energy range, average $t$ and beam energy in bins of $t$. The first cross section uncertainties are statistical, and the second are systematic. The overall average beam energy is 9.86 GeV. There is an additional fully correlated systematic uncertainty of 19.5% on the total cross section, not included here.

More…