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.
Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.
The centrality dependence of the three-particle charge-dependent correlator MEAN(COS(PHI(A)+COS(PHI(B)-2*PHI(RP)) measured with the cumulant method.
The centrality dependence of the correlator three-particle charge-dependent MEAN(COS(PHI(A)+COS(PHI(B)-2*PHI(RP)) measured from correlations with the reaction plane (RP) estimated using the TPC detector.
The centrality dependence of the correlator three-particle charge-dependent MEAN(COS(PHI(A)+COS(PHI(B)-2*PHI(RP)) measured from correlations with the reaction plane (RP) estimated using the VZERO detector.
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.
A study of strange hadron production associated with hard scattering processes and with the underlying event is conducted to investigate the origin of the enhanced production of strange hadrons in small collision systems characterised by large charged-particle multiplicities. For this purpose, the production of the single-strange meson ${\rm K^0_S}$ and the double-strange baryon $\Xi^{\pm}$ is measured, in each event, in the azimuthal direction of the highest-$p_{\rm T}$ particle (``trigger" particle), related to hard scattering processes, and in the direction transverse to it in azimuth, associated with the underlying event, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The per-trigger yields of ${\rm K^0_S}$ and $\Xi^{\pm}$ are dominated by the transverse-to-leading production (i.e., in the direction transverse to the trigger particle), whose contribution relative to the toward-leading production is observed to increase with the event charged-particle multiplicity. The transverse-to-leading and the toward-leading $\Xi^{\pm}$/${\rm K^0_S}$ yield ratios increase with the multiplicity of charged particles, suggesting that strangeness enhancement with multiplicity is associated with both hard scattering processes and the underlying event. The relative production of $\Xi^{\pm}$ with respect to ${\rm K^0_S}$ is higher in transverse-to-leading processes over the whole multiplicity interval covered by the measurement. The ${\rm K}^{0}_{\rm{S}}$ and $\Xi^{\pm}$ per-trigger yields and yield ratios are compared with predictions of three different phenomenological models, namely PYTHIA 8.2 with the Monash tune, PYTHIA 8.2 with ropes and EPOS LHC. The comparison shows that none of them can quantitatively describe either the transverse-to-leading or the toward-leading yields of ${\rm K}^{0}_{\rm{S}}$ and $\Xi^{\pm}$.
Yields of $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ per trigger particle per unit $\Delta\eta\Delta\varphi$ area in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, as a function of the $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ $p_\rm{T}$. Trigger particles are charged particles with $p_\rm{T}>3$ GeV/c. The trigger-particle-$\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ correlation is integrated in the ranges $-1.2<\Delta\eta<1.2$ and $-\pi/2<\Delta\varphi<3/2\pi$.
Transverse-to-leading yields of $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ per trigger particle per unit $\Delta\eta\Delta\varphi$ area in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, as a function of the $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ $p_\rm{T}$. Trigger particles are charged particles with $p_\rm{T}>3$ GeV/c. The trigger-particle-$\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ correlation is integrated in the ranges $0.86<|\Delta\eta|<1.2$ and $0.96<\Delta\varphi<1.8$.
Toward-leading yields of $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ per trigger particle per unit $\Delta\eta\Delta\varphi$ area in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, as a function of the $\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ $p_\rm{T}$. Trigger particles are charged particles with $p_\rm{T}>3$ GeV/c. The trigger-particle-$\rm K^{0}_\rm{S}$ correlation is integrated in the ranges $|\Delta\eta|<0.86$ and $|\Delta\varphi|<1.1$.
The directed flow of charged particles at mid-rapidity is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\rm{NN}}=2.76$ TeV relative to the collision symmetry plane defined by the spectator nucleons. A negative slope of the rapidity-odd directed flow component with approximately 3 times smaller magnitude than found at the highest RHIC energy is observed. This suggests a smaller longitudinal tilt of the initial system and disfavors the strong fireball rotation predicted for the LHC energies. The rapidity-even directed flow component is measured for the first time with spectators and found to be independent of pseudorapidity with a sign change at transverse momenta $p_{\rm T}$ between $1.2$ and $1.7$ GeV/$c$. Combined with the observation of a vanishing rapidity-even $p_{\rm T}$ shift along the spectator deflection this is strong evidence for dipole-like initial density fluctuations in the overlap zone of the nuclei. Similar trends in the rapidity-even directed flow and the estimate from two-particle correlations at mid-rapidity, which is larger by about a factor of 40, indicate a weak correlation between fluctuating participant and spectator symmetry planes. These observations open new possibilities for investigation of the initial conditions in heavy-ion collisions with spectator nucleons.
Correlation between x components of the Q-vector of projectile (Qpx) and target (Qtx) spectators, MEAN(QpxQtx).
Correlation between y components of the Q-vector of projectile (Qpy) and target (Qty) spectators, MEAN(QpyQty).
Correlation between x and y components of the Q-vector of projectile (Qpx) and target (Qty) spectators, MEAN(QpxQty).
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.
Two-particle transverse momentum differential correlators, recently measured in Pb--Pb collisions at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), provide an additional tool to gain insights into particle production mechanisms and infer transport properties, such as the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, of the medium created in Pb-Pb collisions. The longitudinal long-range correlations and the large azimuthal anisotropy measured at low transverse momenta in small collision systems, namely pp and p-Pb, at LHC energies resemble manifestations of collective behaviour. This suggests that locally equilibrated matter may be produced in these small collision systems, similar to what is observed in Pb-Pb collisions. In this work, the same two-particle transverse momentum differential correlators are exploited in pp and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV and $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, respectively, to seek evidence for viscous effects. Specifically, the strength and shape of the correlators are studied as a function of the produced particle multiplicity to identify evidence for longitudinal broadening that might reveal the presence of viscous effects in these smaller systems. The measured correlators and their evolution from pp and p--Pb to Pb--Pb collisions are additionally compared to predictions from Monte Carlo event generators, and the potential presence of viscous effects is discussed.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CD}$ for 0$-$5% multiplicity class pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7\;\text{TeV}$.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CD}$ for 30$-$40% multiplicity class pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7\;\text{TeV}$.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CD}$ for 70$-$80% multiplicity class pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7\;\text{TeV}$.
The interaction of $\rm{K}^{-}$ with protons is characterised by the presence of several coupled channels, systems like ${\rm \overline{K}^0}$n and $\pi\Sigma$ with a similar mass and the same quantum numbers as the $\rm{K}^{-}$p state. The strengths of these couplings to the $\rm{K}^{-}$p system are of crucial importance for the understanding of the nature of the $\Lambda(1405)$ resonance and of the attractive $\rm{K}^{-}$p strong interaction. In this article, we present measurements of the $\rm{K}^{-}$p correlation functions in relative momentum space obtained in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}~=~13$ TeV, in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV, and (semi)peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV. The emitting source size, composed of a core radius anchored to the $\rm{K}^{+}$p correlation and of a resonance halo specific to each particle pair, varies between 1 and 2 fm in these collision systems. The strength and the effects of the ${\rm \overline{K}^0}$n and $\pi\Sigma$ inelastic channels on the measured $\rm{K}^{-}$p correlation function are investigated in the different colliding systems by comparing the data with state-of-the-art models of chiral potentials. A novel approach to determine the conversion weights $\omega$, necessary to quantify the amount of produced inelastic channels in the correlation function, is presented. In this method, particle yields are estimated from thermal model predictions, and their kinematic distribution from blast-wave fits to measured data. The comparison of chiral potentials to the measured $\rm{K}^{-}$p interaction indicates that, while the $\pi\Sigma-\rm{K}^{-}$p dynamics is well reproduced by the model, the coupling to the ${\rm \overline{K}^0}$n channel in the model is currently underestimated.
K$^+$p (K$^+$p $\oplus$ K$^-\overline{\mathrm p}$) correlation function in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV.
K$^+$p (K$^+$p $\oplus$ K$^-\overline{\mathrm p}$) correlation function in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}=5.02 $ TeV (0-20%).
K$^+$p (K$^+$p $\oplus$ K$^-\overline{\mathrm p}$) correlation function in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV (20-40%).
This paper presents the first measurements of the charge independent (CI) and charge dependent (CD) two-particle transverse momentum correlators $G_{2}^{\rm CI}$ and $G_{2}^{\rm CD}$ in Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 2.76\;\text{\TeVe}$ by the ALICE collaboration. The two-particle transverse momentum correlator $G_{2}$ was introduced as a measure of the momentum current transfer between neighbouring system cells. The correlators are measured as a function of pair separation in pseudorapidity ($\Delta \eta$) and azimuth ($\Delta \varphi$) and as a function of collision centrality. From peripheral to central collisions, the correlator $G_{2}^{\rm CI}$ exhibits a longitudinal broadening while undergoing a monotonic azimuthal narrowing. By contrast, $G_{2}^{\rm CD}$ exhibits a narrowing along both dimensions. These features are not reproduced by models such as HIJING and AMPT. However, the observed narrowing of the correlators from peripheral to central collisions is expected to result from the stronger transverse flow profiles produced in more central collisions and the longitudinal broadening is predicted to be sensitive to momentum currents and the shear viscosity per unit of entropy density $\eta/s$ of the matter produced in the collisions. The observed broadening is found to be consistent with the hypothesized lower bound of $\eta/s$ and is in qualitative agreement with values obtained from anisotropic flow measurements.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CI}$ for central (0-5%) Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76\;\text{TeV}$.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CI}$ for semi-central (30-40%) Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76\;\text{TeV}$.
Two-particle transverse momentum correlation $G_{2}^{\rm CI}$ for perippheral (70-80%) Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76\;\text{TeV}$.
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%.
Forum