Observation of coherent $\phi$(1020) meson photoproduction in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\text{NN}}$ = 5.36 TeV

The CMS collaboration Chekhovsky, Vladimir ; Hayrapetyan, Aram ; Makarenko, Vladimir ; et al.
CMS-HIN-24-009, 2025.
Inspire Record 2908607 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.156183

The first observation of coherent $\phi$(1020) meson photoproduction off heavy nuclei is presented using ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.36 TeV. The data were collected by the CMS experiment and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.68 $\mu$b$^{-1}$. The $\phi$(1020) meson signals are reconstructed via the K$^+$K$^-$ decay channel. The production cross section is presented as a function of the $\phi$(1020) meson rapidity in the range 0.3 $\lt$$\lvert y\rvert$$\lt$ 1.0, probing gluons that carry a fraction of the nucleon momentum ($x$) around $10^{-4}$. The observed cross section exhibits little dependence on rapidity and is significantly suppressed, by a factor of ${\sim}$5, compared to a baseline model that treats a nucleus as a collection of free nucleons. Theoretical models that incorporate either nuclear shadowing or gluon saturation predict suppression of the $\phi$(1020) meson cross section with only a small dependence on rapidity, but the magnitude of the predicted suppression varies greatly. Models considering only nuclear shadowing effects result in the best agreement with the experimental data. This study establishes a powerful new tool for exploring nuclear effects and nuclear gluonic structure in the small-$x$ regime at a unique energy scale bridging the perturbative and nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics domains.

1 data table

The differential coherent $\phi$ photoproduction cross section and the nuclear suppression factor as a function of rapidity.


Small-$x$ evolution of gluon fields from incoherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions

The CMS collaboration Chekhovsky, Vladimir ; Hayrapetyan, Aram ; Makarenko, Vladimir ; et al.
CMS-HIN-23-009, 2025.
Inspire Record 2899343 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.156185

Incoherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction in heavy ion ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs), in which the photon interacts with localized, fluctuating gluonic hotspots rather than the entire nucleus, provides a unique probe of those fluctuations. This study presents the first measurement of the dependence of this photoproduction yield on the photon-nucleon center-of-mass energy ($W_\gamma^\mathrm{N}$), using PbPb UPCs at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The data corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.52 nb$^{-1}$, recorded by the CMS experiment. The measurement covers a wide $W_\gamma^\mathrm{N}$ range of $\approx$40-400 GeV, probing gluons carrying a fraction of nucleon momentum $x$ in the range between 5.9 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ and 6.5 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$. The measured incoherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction cross section is suppressed relative to theoretical predictions without nuclear effects. However, the ratio of incoherent to coherent photoproduction remains constant across the probed $W_\gamma^\mathrm{N}$ and $x$ range. Together, these results pose significant challenges to current theoretical models which include gluon saturation or nuclear shadowing effects.

8 data tables

The differential incoherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of $|y|$, in different neutron multiplicity classes.

The differential incoherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of $y$, in different neutron multiplicity classes.

The incoherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of photon-nuclear center-of-mass energy per nucleon $W_{\gamma \mathrm{N}}^{\mathrm{Pb}}$ or Bjorken $x$, measured in PbPb ultra-peripheral collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The $W_{\gamma \mathrm{N}}^{\mathrm{Pb}}$ values used correspond to the center of each rapidity range. The theoretical uncertainties is due to the uncertainties in the photon flux.

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Version 2
Probing small Bjorken-$x$ nuclear gluonic structure via coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 131 (2023) 262301, 2023.
Inspire Record 2648536 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.138867

Quasireal photons exchanged in relativistic heavy ion interactions are powerful probes of the gluonic structure of nuclei. The coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction cross section in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions is measured as a function of photon-nucleus center-of-mass energies per nucleon (W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$), over a wide range of 40 $\lt$ W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$$\lt$ 400 GeV. Results are obtained using data at the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.52 nb$^{-1}$. The cross section is observed to rise rapidly at low W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$, and plateau above W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$$\approx$ 40 GeV, up to 400 GeV, a new regime of small Bjorken-$x$ ($\approx$ 6 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$) gluons being probed in a heavy nucleus. The observed energy dependence is not predicted by current quantum chromodynamic models.

16 data tables

The differential coherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of rapidity, in different neutron multiplicity classes: 0n0n, 0nXn, XnXn , and AnAn.

The differential coherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of rapidity, in different neutron multiplicity classes: 0n0n, 0nXn, XnXn , and AnAn.

The total coherent $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ photoproduction cross section as a function of photon-nuclear center-of-mass energy per nucleon $W_{\gamma \mathrm{N}}^{\mathrm{Pb}}$, measured in PbPb ultra-peripheral collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The $W_{\gamma \mathrm{N}}^{\mathrm{Pb}}$ values used correspond to the center of each rapidity range. The theoretical uncertainties is due to the uncertainties in the photon flux.

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Measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair production in association with a photon with the ATLAS experiment

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abbott, Dale ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 843 (2023) 137848, 2023.
Inspire Record 2616326 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.140834

A measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair ($t\bar{t}$) production in association with a photon is presented. The measurement is performed in the single-lepton $t\bar{t}$ decay channel using proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN at a centre-of-mass-energy of 13 TeV during the years 2015-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The charge asymmetry is obtained from the distribution of the difference of the absolute rapidities of the top quark and antiquark using a profile likelihood unfolding approach. It is measured to be $A_\text{C}=-0.003 \pm 0.029$ in agreement with the Standard Model expectation.

4 data tables

The measured asymmetry of top quark pairs in $t\bar{t}\gamma$ production in a fiducial region at particle level.

Normalised differential cross section as a function of $|y(t)| - |y(\bar{t})|$. The observed data is compared with the SM expectation using aMC@NLO+Pythia8 at NLO QCD precision. The value of the charge asymmetry corresponds to the difference between the two bins. Underflow and overflow events are included in corresponding bins of the distribution.

Definition of the fiducial phase space at particle level. where, $\gamma$: photon $\ell$: lepton j: jet

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First measurement of the ${\mathbf{|\textit t|}}$-dependence of coherent $\mathbf{\rm{J/\psi}}$ photonuclear production

The ALICE collaboration Acharya, Shreyasi ; Adamova, Dagmar ; Adler, Alexander ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 817 (2021) 136280, 2021.
Inspire Record 1840600 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.104459

The first measurement of the cross section for coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction as a function of $|t|$, the square of the momentum transferred between the incoming and outgoing target nucleus, is presented. The data were measured with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV with the J/$\psi$ produced in the central rapidity region $|y|<0.8$, which corresponds to the small Bjorken-$x$ range $(0.3-1.4) \times 10^{-3}$. The measured $|t|$-dependence is not described by computations based only on the Pb nuclear form factor, while the photonuclear cross section is better reproduced by models including shadowing according to the leading-twist approximation, or gluon-saturation effects from the impact-parameter dependent Balitsky-Kovchegov equation. These new results are therefore a valid tool to constrain the relevant model parameters and to investigate the transverse gluonic structure at very low Bjorken-$x$.

2 data tables

t-dependence of coherent J/psi photonuclear production cross section in Pb-Pb UPC.

pT**2-dependence of coherent J/psi photoproduction cross section in Pb-Pb UPC.


Coherent $J/\psi$ and $\psi'$ photoproduction at midrapidity in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV

The ALICE collaboration Acharya, Shreyasi ; Adamova, Dagmar ; Adler, Alexander ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 81 (2021) 712, 2021.
Inspire Record 1840601 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.110176

The coherent photoproduction of $\rm{J/\psi}$ and $\rm{\psi'}$ mesons was measured in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector. Charmonia are detected in the central rapidity region for events where the hadronic interactions are strongly suppressed. The $\rm{J/\psi}$ is reconstructed using the dilepton ($l^{+} l^{-}$) and proton-antiproton decay channels, while for the $\rm{\psi'}$, the dilepton and the $l^{+} l^{-} \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decay channels are studied. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 233 ${\mu b}^{-1}$. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent $\rm{J/\psi}$ and $\rm{\psi'}$ photoproduction. The coherent cross section is found to be in a good agreement with models incorporating moderate nuclear gluon shadowing of about 0.65 at a Bjorken-$x$ of around $6\times 10^{-4}$, such as the EPS09 parametrization, however none of the models is able to fully describe the rapidity dependence of the coherent $\rm{J/\psi}$ cross section including ALICE measurements at forward rapidity. The ratio of $\rm{\psi'}$ to $\rm{J/\psi}$ coherent photoproduction cross sections was also measured and found to be consistent with the one for photoproduction off protons.

4 data tables

Measured differential cross section of coherent J/Psi photoproduction in Pb–Pb UPCs in |y|<0.8. The points show the measurements for different decay channels.

Measured differential cross section of coherent Psi(2S) photoproduction in Pb–Pb UPCs in |y|<0.8. The points show the measurements for different decay channels.

Measured rapidity differential cross section of coherent J/Psi photoproduction in Pb–Pb UPCs events.

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Energy dependence of exclusive $J/\psi$ photoproduction off protons in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The ALICE collaboration Acharya, Shreyasi ; Torales - Acosta, Fernando ; Adamova, Dagmar ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 79 (2019) 402, 2019.
Inspire Record 1693305 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.89306

The ALICE Collaboration has measured the energy dependence of exclusive photoproduction of $J/\psi$ vector mesons off proton targets in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. The e$^+$e$^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ decay channels are used to measure the cross section as a function of the rapidity of the $J/\psi$ in the range $-2.5 < y < 2.7$, corresponding to an energy in the $\gamma$p centre-of-mass in the interval $40 < W_{\gamma\mathrm{p}}<550$ GeV. The measurements, which are consistent with a power law dependence of the exclusive $J/\psi$ photoproduction cross section, are compared to previous results from HERA and the LHC and to several theoretical models. They are found to be compatible with previous measurements.

1 data table

Differential cross sections as a function of rapidity for exclusive J/PSI photoproduction off protons in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions. The corresponding J/PSI photoproduction cross sections in bins of the GAMMA-P centre-of-mass, W(GAMMA P), are also presented.


Measurement of differential cross sections of isolated-photon plus heavy-flavour jet production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV using the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aaboud, Morad ; Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 776 (2018) 295-317, 2018.
Inspire Record 1632756 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.79163

This Letter presents the measurement of differential cross sections of isolated prompt photons produced in association with a b-jet or a c-jet. These final states provide sensitivity to the heavy-flavour content of the proton and aspects related to the modelling of heavy-flavour quarks in perturbative QCD. The measurement uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 20.2 fb$^{-1}$. The differential cross sections are measured for each jet flavour with respect to the transverse energy of the leading photon in two photon pseudorapidity regions: $|\eta^\gamma|<1.37$ and $1.56<|\eta^\gamma|<2.37$. The measurement covers photon transverse energies $25 < E_\textrm{T}^\gamma<400$ GeV and $25 < E_\textrm{T}^\gamma<350$ GeV respectively for the two $|\eta^\gamma|$ regions. For each jet flavour, the ratio of the cross sections in the two $|\eta^\gamma|$ regions is also measured. The measurement is corrected for detector effects and compared to leading-order and next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations, based on various treatments and assumptions about the heavy-flavour content of the proton. Overall, the predictions agree well with the measurement, but some deviations are observed at high photon transverse energies. The total uncertainty in the measurement ranges between 13% and 66%, while the central $\gamma+b$ measurement exhibits the smallest uncertainty, ranging from 13% to 27%, which is comparable to the precision of the theoretical predictions.

12 data tables

Measured fiducial integrated $\gamma+b$ and $\gamma+c$ cross sections for $|\eta^\gamma|<1.37$ and $1.56<|\eta^\gamma|<2.37$.

Measured $\gamma+b$ fiducial differential cross section as a function of $E_\text{T}^\gamma$ for $|\eta^\gamma|<1.37$.

Measured $\gamma+b$ fiducial differential cross section as a function of $E_\text{T}^\gamma$ for $1.56<|\eta^\gamma|<2.37$.

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Coherent diffractive photoproduction of $\rho^{0}$ mesons on gold nuclei at RHIC

The STAR collaboration Adamczyk, L. ; Adkins, J.K. ; Agakishiev, G. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 96 (2017) 054904, 2017.
Inspire Record 1515028 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.101354

The STAR Collaboration reports on the photoproduction of $\pi^+\pi^-$ pairs in gold-gold collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV/nucleon-pair. These pion pairs are produced when a nearly-real photon emitted by one ion scatters from the other ion. We fit the $\pi^+\pi^-$ invariant mass spectrum with a combination of $\rho$ and $\omega$ resonances and a direct $\pi^+\pi^-$ continuum. This is the first observation of the $\omega$ in ultra-peripheral collisions, and the first measurement of $\rho-\omega$ interference at energies where photoproduction is dominated by Pomeron exchange. The $\omega$ amplitude is consistent with the measured $\gamma p\rightarrow \omega p$ cross section, a classical Glauber calculation and the $\omega\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-$ branching ratio. The $\omega$ phase angle is similar to that observed at much lower energies, showing that the $\rho-\omega$ phase difference does not depend significantly on photon energy. The $\rho^0$ differential cross section $d\sigma/dt$ exhibits a clear diffraction pattern, compatible with scattering from a gold nucleus, with 2 minima visible. The positions of the diffractive minima agree better with the predictions of a quantum Glauber calculation that does not include nuclear shadowing than with a calculation that does include shadowing.

13 data tables

The $\pi^+\pi^-$ invariant-mass distribution for all selected $\pi\pi$ candidates with $p_T~<~100~\textrm{MeV}/c$.

The ratio $|B/A|$ of amplitudes of nonresonant $\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\rho^0$ mesons in the present STAR analysis.

The ratio $|B/A|$ of amplitudes of nonresonant $\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\rho^0$ mesons in the previous STAR analysis, Phys. Rev. C 77 034910 (2008).

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Exclusive $\mathrm{J/}\psi$ photoproduction off protons in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV

The ALICE collaboration Abelev, Betty Bezverkhny ; Adam, Jaroslav ; Adamova, Dagmar ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 113 (2014) 232504, 2014.
Inspire Record 1303903 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.64378

We present the first measurement at the LHC of exclusive J/$\psi$ photoproduction off protons, in ultra-peripheral proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. Events are selected with a dimuon pair produced either in the rapidity interval, in the laboratory frame, $2.5<y<4$ (p-Pb) or $-3.6<y<-2.6$ (Pb--p), and no other particles observed in the ALICE acceptance. The measured cross sections $\sigma (\gamma + {\rm p} \rightarrow J/\psi + {\rm p})$ are 33.2 $\pm$ 2.2 (stat) $\pm$ 3.1 (syst) $\pm$ 0.7 (theo) nb in p-Pb and 284 $\pm$ 36 (stat) $^{+27}_{-32}$ (syst) $\pm$ 26 (theo) nb in Pb-p collisions. We measure this process up to about 700 GeV in the $\gamma {\rm p}$ centre-of-mass, which is a factor of two larger than the highest energy studied at HERA. The data are consistent with a power law dependence of the $J/\psi$ photoproduction cross section in $\gamma {\rm p}$ energies from about 20 to 700 GeV, or equivalently, from Bjorken-$x$ between $\sim 2\times 10^{-2}$ to $\sim 2\times 10^{-5}$, thus indicating no significant change in the gluon density behaviour of the proton between HERA and LHC energies.

2 data tables

Differential cross sections as a function of rapidity for exclusive J/PSI photoproduction off protons in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions. The corresponding J/PSI photoproduction cross sections in bins of the GAMMA-P centre-of-mass, W(GAMMA P), are also presented.

Differential cross section as a function of rapidity for exclusive J/PSI photoproduction off protons in ultra-peripheral Pb-p collisions. The corresponding J/PSI photoproduction cross section in a range of the GAMMA-P centre-of-mass, W(GAMMA P), is also presented.