We report precision measurements on cumulants ($C_{n}$) and factorial cumulants ($\kappa_{n}$) of (net-)proton number distributions up to fourth-order in Au+Au collisions from phase II of the Beam Energy Scan program at RHIC. (Anti-)protons are selected at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) within a transverse momentum range of $0.4 < p_T < 2.0$ GeV/$c$. The collision energy and centrality dependence of these cumulants are studied over center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 -- 27 GeV. Relative to various non-critical-point model calculations and peripheral collision 70-80% data, the net-proton $C_4/C_2$ measurement in 0-5% collisions shows a minimum around 19.6 GeV for significance of deviation at $\sim2$--$5\sigma$. In addition, deviations from non-critical baselines around the same collision energy region are also seen in proton factorial cumulant ratios, especially in $\kappa_2/\kappa_1$ and $\kappa_3/\kappa_1$. Dynamical model calculations including a critical point are called for in order to understand these precision measurements.
Reference multiplicity distributions (RefMult3 and RefMult3X) for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV along with MC Glauber model fits.
Collision centrality dependence of net-proton cumulants in Au+Au collisions for $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 27 GeV obtained with RefMult3 and RefMult3X centrality definition.
Collision energy dependence of net-proton cumulant ratios and proton factorial cumulant ratios in Au+Au collisions from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 200 GeV for 0-5$\%$ and 70-80$\%$ centrality. Data from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 27 GeV are from BES-II (obtained with RefMult3X except 27 GeV where RefMult3 is used). Data from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 39 - 200 GeV are from BES-I (RefMult3).
Details of the nuclear structure of $^{\rm 129}$Xe, such as the quadrupole deformation and the nuclear diffuseness, are studied by extensive measurements of anisotropic-flow-related observables in Xe--Xe collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}~=~5.44$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The results are compared with those from Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}~=~5.02$ TeV for a baseline, given that the $^{\rm 208}$Pb nucleus exhibits a very weak deformation. Furthermore, comprehensive comparisons are performed with a state-of-the-art hybrid model using IP-Glasma+MUSIC+UrQMD. It is found that among various IP-Glasma+MUSIC+UrQMD calculations with different values of nuclear parameters, the one using a nuclear diffuseness parameter of $a_0=0.492$ and a nuclear quadrupole deformation parameter of $β_2=0.207$ provides a better description of the presented flow measurements. These studies represent the first systematic exploration of nuclear structure at TeV energies, utilizing a comprehensive set of anisotropic flow observables. The measurements serve as a critical experimental benchmark for rigorously testing the interplay between nuclear structure inputs and heavy-ion theoretical models.
Charged particle $v_2\{2, \left | \Delta\eta \right | > 1.0\}$ as a function of centrality in Xe$-$Xe and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV and $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV, respectively.
Charged particle $v_2\{4\}$ as a function of centrality in Xe$-$Xe and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV and $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV, respectively.
Ratio between Xe$-$Xe and Pb$-$Pb charged particle $v_2\{2, \left | \Delta\eta \right | > 1.0\}$ as a function of centrality.
High precision measurements of flow coefficients $v_{n}$ ($n = 1 - 4$) for protons, deuterons and tritons relative to the first-order spectator plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the SIS18/GSI. Flow coefficients are studied as a function of transverse momentum $p_{t}$ and rapidity $y_{cm}$ over a large region of phase space and for several classes of collision centrality. A clear mass hierarchy is found for the slope of $v_{1}$, $d v_{1}/d y^{\prime}|_{y^{\prime} = 0}$ where $y^{\prime}$ is the scaled rapidity, and for $v_{2}$ at mid-rapidity. Scaling with the number of nucleons is observed for the $p_{t}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ and $v_{4}$ at mid-rapidity, which is indicative for nuclear coalescence as the main process responsible for light nuclei formation. $v_{2}$ is found to scale with the initial eccentricity $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle$, while $v_{4}$ scales with $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle^{2}$ and $\langle \epsilon_{4} \rangle$. The multi-differential high-precision data on $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ provides important constraints on the equation-of-state of compressed baryonic matter.
The resolution $\Re_{n}$ of the first-order spectator event plane for flow coefficients of different orders $n$ as a function of the event centrality (Adamczewski-Musch:2020iio). The circles correspond to centrality intervals of $5 \%$ width and the squares to $10 \%$ width (curves are meant to guide the eye).
The resolution $\Re_{n}$ of the first-order spectator event plane for flow coefficients of different orders $n$ as a function of the event centrality (Adamczewski-Musch:2020iio). The circles correspond to centrality intervals of $5 \%$ width and the squares to $10 \%$ width (curves are meant to guide the eye).
The flow coefficients $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ (from top to bottom panels) of protons, deuterons and tritons (from left to right panels) in semi-central ($20 - 30 \%$) Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV as a function of the centre-of-mass rapidity $y_{cm}$ in transverse momentum intervals of $50$ MeV$/c$ width. Systematic uncertainties are displayed as boxes. Lines are to guide the eye.
We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants ($C_{5}$, $C_{6}$) and factorial cumulants ($\kappa_{5}$, $\kappa_{6}$) of net-proton and proton distributions, from $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3 - 200$ GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The net-proton cumulant ratios generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 GeV. $C_{6}/C_{2}$ for 0-40% centrality collisions is increasingly negative with decreasing $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$, while it is positive for the lowest $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (at baryon chemical potential, $\mu_{B} \leq$ 110 MeV) that include a crossover quark-hadron transition. In addition, for $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \geq$ 11.5 GeV, the measured proton $\kappa_{n}$, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component shape of proton distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyper-order proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, $\mu_{B}\sim 750$ MeV ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 GeV) is starkly different from those at vanishing $\mu_{B}\sim 20$MeV ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV and higher).
Event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions for 0-40$\%$, 0-5$\%$ and 50-60$\%$ Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3 GeV. The distributions are not corrected for proton and antiproton detection efficiency.
Event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions for 0-40$\%$, 0-5$\%$ and 50-60$\%$ Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3 GeV. The distributions are not corrected for proton and antiproton detection efficiency.
Event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions for 0-40$\%$, 0-5$\%$ and 50-60$\%$ Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3 GeV. The distributions are not corrected for proton and antiproton detection efficiency.
We present the first systematic comparison of the charged-particle pseudorapidity densities for three widely different collision systems, pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb, at the top energy of the Large Hadron Collider ($\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV) measured over a wide pseudorapidity range (${-3.5 <\eta <5}$), the widest possible among the four experiments at that facility. The systematic uncertainties are minimised since the measurements are recorded by the same experimental apparatus (ALICE). The distributions for p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions are determined as a function of the centrality of the collisions, while results from pp collisions are reported for inelastic events with at least one charged particle at midrapidity. The charged-particle pseudorapidity densities are, under simple and robust assumptions, transformed to charged-particle rapidity densities. This allows for the calculation and the presentation of the evolution of the width of the rapidity distributions and of a lower bound on the Bjorken energy density, as a function of the number of participants in all three collision systems. We find a decreasing width of the particle production, and roughly a smooth ten fold increase in the energy density, as the system size grows, which is consistent with a gradually higher dense phase of matter.
$\frac{\mathrm{d}N}{\mathrm{d}\eta}$ versus $\eta$ for $x^{\pm}$ in $\mathrm{p}\mathrm{p}$ at $\sqrt{s}=5.023\,\mathrm{Te\!V}$
$\frac{\mathrm{d}N}{\mathrm{d}\eta}$ versus $\eta$ for $x^{\pm}$ in $\mathrm{p}-\mathrm{Pb}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.023\,\mathrm{Te\!V}$
$\frac{\mathrm{d}N}{\mathrm{d}\eta}$ versus $\eta$ for $x^{\pm}$ in $\mathrm{Pb}-\mathrm{Pb}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.023\,\mathrm{Te\!V}$
The $B_\mathrm{c}^+$ meson is observed for the first time in heavy ion collisions. Data from the CMS detector are used to study the production of the $B_\mathrm{c}^+$ meson in lead-lead (PbPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 5.02 TeV, via the $B_\mathrm{c}^+ \to (J/\psi\to\mu^+\mu^-)\mu^+\nu_\mu$ decay. The $B_\mathrm{c}^+$ nuclear modification factor, derived from the PbPb-to-pp ratio of production cross sections, is measured in two bins of the trimuon transverse momentum and of the PbPb collision centrality. The B$_\mathrm{c}^+$ meson is shown to be less suppressed than quarkonia and most of the open heavy-flavor mesons, suggesting that effects of the hot and dense nuclear matter created in heavy ion collisions contribute to its production. This measurement sets forth a promising new probe of the interplay of suppression and enhancement mechanisms in the production of heavy-flavor mesons in the quark-gluon plasma.
The $B_c$ meson production (pp-equivalent) cross-section times branching fraction of the $B_c\rightarrow (J/\psi \rightarrow \mu\mu) \mu \nu_{\mu}$ decay in pp and PbPb collisions. The used kinematic variables correspond to those of the trimuon final state. The two $p_T$ bins correspond to different rapidity ranges. The total uncertainty is decomposed in an uncertainty from the fit and one representing all other sources. The markers of the $p_T^{\mu\mu\mu}$ bins are placed according to the Lafferty-Wyatt prescription.
The $B_c$ meson nuclear modification factor in PbPb collisions, in $p_T^{\mu\mu\mu}$ bins corresponding to different trimuon rapidity ranges. The total uncertainty is decomposed in a bin-to-bin-uncorrelated uncertainty and one fully correlated along the two bins. The markers of the $p_T^{\mu\mu\mu}$ bins are placed at the average of the Lafferty-Wyatt prescriptions applied to the pp and PbPb spectra.
The $B_c$ meson nuclear modification factor in PbPb collisions, in centrality bins, integrated over the studied kinematic range. The cut on the trimuon rapidity depends on the trimuon $p_T$. The total uncertainty is decomposed in a bin-to-bin-uncorrelated uncertainty and one fully correlated along the two bins. The centrality bin markers are placed at the minimum bias average number of participants $N_{part}$.
We present first data on sub-threshold production of K0 s mesons and {\Lambda} hyperons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.4 GeV. We observe an universal <Apart> scaling of hadrons containing strangeness, independent of their corresponding production thresholds. Comparing the yields, their <Apart> scaling, and the shapes of the rapidity and the pt spectra to state-of-the-art transport model (UrQMD, HSD, IQMD) predictions, we find that none of the latter can simultaneously describe all observables with reasonable \c{hi}2 values.
Example of $K^{0}_{S}$ signal for 0-40% most central events, over mixed-event background for the bin $-0.05 < y_{cm} < 0.05$ and reduced transverse masses between $80-120 MeV/c^{2}$.
Example of $\Lambda$ signal for 0-40% most central events, over mixed-event background for the bin $-0.05 < y_{cm} < 0.05$ and reduced transverse masses between $100-150 MeV/c^{2}$.
Reduced transverse mass ($m_{t}-m_{0}$) spectra of $K^{0}_{S}$ for the 0-40% most central events. NOTE: The spectra are not scaled by $1/N_{Events}$! To compare the data, divide by $N_{Events} = 2.1997626 x 10^{9}$
We present data on charged kaons (K+-) and {\phi} mesons in Au(1.23A GeV)+Au collisions. It is the first simultaneous measurement of K and {\phi} mesons in central heavy-ion collisions below a kinetic beam energy of 10A GeV. The {\phi}/K- multiplicity ratio is found to be surprisingly high with a value of 0.52 +- 0.16 and shows no dependence on the centrality of the collision. Consequently, the different slopes of the K+ and K- transverse-mass spectra can be explained solely by feed- down, which substantially softens the spectra of K- mesons. Hence, in contrast to the commonly adapted argumentation in literature, the different slopes do not necessarily imply diverging freeze- out temperatures of K+ and K- mesons caused by different couplings to baryons.
Acceptance and efficiency corrected transverse-mass spectra around mid-rapidity.
$K^{+}$ signal and the corresponding background fit for the region covering mid-rapidity and $m_{t}−m_{0}$ between 25 and 50 $MeV/c^{2}$.
$K^{-}$ signal and the corresponding background fit for the region covering mid-rapidity and $m_{t}−m_{0}$ between 50 and 75 $MeV/c^{2}$.
Forum