Investigating charm production and fragmentation via azimuthal correlations of prompt D mesons with charged particles in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV

The ALICE collaboration Acharya, Shreyasi ; Adamova, Dagmar ; Adler, Alexander ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 82 (2022) 335, 2022.
Inspire Record 1946828 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.128823

Angular correlations of heavy-flavour and charged particles in high-energy proton-proton collisions are sensitive to the production mechanisms of heavy quarks and to their fragmentation as well as hadronisation processes. The measurement of the azimuthal-correlation function of prompt D mesons with charged particles in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ALICE detector is reported, considering D$^{0}$, D$^{+}$, and D$^{*+}$ mesons in the transverse-momentum interval $3 < p_{\rm T} < 36$ GeV/$c$ at midrapidity ($|y| < 0.5$), and charged particles with $p_{\rm T} > 0.3$ GeV/$c$ and pseudorapidity $|\eta| < 0.8$. This measurement has an improved precision and provides an extended transverse-momentum coverage compared to previous ALICE measurements at lower energies. The study is also performed as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity, showing no modifications of the correlation function with multiplicity within uncertainties. The properties and the transverse-momentum evolution of the near- and away-side correlation peaks are studied and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. Among those considered, PYTHIA8 and POWHEG+PYTHIA8 provide the best description of the measured observables. The obtained results can provide guidance on tuning the generators.

56 data tables

Comparison of the azimuthal-correlation distributions of D mesons (average of D$^{0}$, D$^{+}$, and D$^{*+}$) with $3 < p_{\rm T} < 5$ GeV/$c$ and charged particles with $0.3 < p_{\rm T} < 1$ GeV/$c$, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $5, 7, and 13 TeV, after baseline subtraction. Rapidity range for the D mesons is $|y^{\rm D}_{\rm cms}| < 0.5$. Correlations are integrated for $|\Delta\eta|=|\eta_{\rm ch}-\eta_{\rm D}| < 1$. The azimuthal-correlation distributions are reported in the range $0 < \Delta\varphi < \pi$.

Comparison of the azimuthal-correlation distributions of D mesons (average of D$^{0}$, D$^{+}$, and D$^{*+}$) with $8 < p_{\rm T} < 16$ GeV/$c$ and charged particles with $0.3 < p_{\rm T} < 1$ GeV/$c$, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $5, 7, and 13 TeV, after baseline subtraction. Rapidity range for the D mesons is $|y^{\rm D}_{\rm cms}| < 0.5$. Correlations are integrated for $|\Delta\eta|=|\eta_{\rm ch}-\eta_{\rm D}| < 1$. The azimuthal-correlation distributions are reported in the range $0 < \Delta\varphi < \pi$.

Comparison of the azimuthal-correlation distributions of D mesons (average of D$^{0}$, D$^{+}$, and D$^{*+}$) with $16 < p_{\rm T} < 24$ GeV/$c$ and charged particles with $0.3 < p_{\rm T} < 1$ GeV/$c$, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $5, 7, and 13 TeV, after baseline subtraction. Rapidity range for the D mesons is $|y^{\rm D}_{\rm cms}| < 0.5$. Correlations are integrated for $|\Delta\eta|=|\eta_{\rm ch}-\eta_{\rm D}| < 1$. The azimuthal-correlation distributions are reported in the range $0 < \Delta\varphi < \pi$.

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Experimental evidence for an attractive p-$\phi$ interaction

The ALICE collaboration Acharya, Shreyasi ; Adamova, Dagmar ; Adler, Alexander ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 127 (2021) 172301, 2021.
Inspire Record 1863040 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.113758

This Letter presents the first experimental evidence of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a $\phi$ meson. The result is obtained from two-particle correlations of combined p-$\phi \oplus \overline{\rm {p}}$-$\phi$ pairs measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}~=~13$ TeV by the ALICE collaboration. The spin-averaged scattering length and effective range of the p-$\phi$ interaction are extracted from the fully corrected correlation function employing the Lednický-Lyuboshits approach. In particular, the imaginary part of the scattering length vanishes within uncertainties, indicating that inelastic processes do not play a prominent role for the p-$\phi$ interaction. These data demonstrate that the interaction is dominated by elastic p-$\phi$ scattering. Furthermore, an analysis employing phenomenological Gaussian- and Yukawa-type potentials is conducted. Under the assumption of the latter, the N-$\phi$ coupling constant is found to be $g_{\rm{N}-\phi} = 0.14\pm 0.03\,(\mathrm{stat.})\pm 0.02\,(\mathrm{syst.})$. This work provides valuable experimental input to accomplish a self-consistent description of the N-$\phi$ interaction, which is particularly relevant for the more fundamental studies on partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear medium.

2 data tables

Measured $\mathrm{p}-\phi$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\phi$ correlation function.

Genuine $\mathrm{p}-\phi$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\phi$ correlation function.