We report the first measurement of charged particle elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|$\eta$|<0.8) and transverse momentum range 0.2< $p_{\rm T}$< 5.0 GeV/$c$. The elliptic flow signal v$_2$, measured using the 4-particle correlation method, averaged over transverse momentum and pseudorapidity is 0.087 $\pm$ 0.002 (stat) $\pm$ 0.004 (syst) in the 40-50% centrality class. The differential elliptic flow v$_2(p_{\rm T})$ reaches a maximum of 0.2 near $p_{\rm T}$ = 3 GeV/$c$. Compared to RHIC Au-Au collisions at 200 GeV, the elliptic flow increases by about 30%. Some hydrodynamic model predictions which include viscous corrections are in agreement with the observed increase.
Azimuthally anisotropic distributions of D$^0$, D$^+$ and D$^{*+}$ mesons were studied in the central rapidity region ($|y|<0.8$) in Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV per nucleon-nucleon collision, with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The second Fourier coefficient $v_2$ (commonly denoted elliptic flow) was measured in the centrality class 30-50% as a function of the D meson transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$, in the range 2-16 GeV/$c$. The measured $v_2$ of D mesons is comparable in magnitude to that of light-flavour hadrons. It is positive in the range $2 < p_{\rm T} < 6$ GeV/$c$ with $5.7\sigma$ significance, based on the combination of statistical and systematic uncertainties.
The azimuthal anisotropy of particles associated with jets (jet particles) at midrapidity is measured for the first time in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV down to transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) of 0.5 GeV/$c$ and 2 GeV/$c$, respectively, with ALICE. The second-order Fourier coefficient of the jet-particle azimuthal distribution ($v_2$) in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions is positive, with a significance reaching 6.8$\sigma$ at low $p_{\rm T}$. Comparisons with the inclusive charged-particle $v_2$ and with AMPT calculations are discussed. The model describes qualitatively the main features of the jet-particle $v_2$ in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions and indicates that the positive jet-particle $v_2$ is generated by parton interactions.
Measurements of multi-particle azimuthal correlations (cumulants) for charged particles in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions are presented. They help address the question of whether there is evidence for global, flow-like, azimuthal correlations in the p-Pb system. Comparisons are made to measurements from the larger Pb-Pb system, where such evidence is established. In particular, the second harmonic two-particle cumulants are found to decrease with multiplicity, characteristic of a dominance of few-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions. However, when a $|\Delta \eta|$ gap is placed to suppress such correlations, the two-particle cumulants begin to rise at high-multiplicity, indicating the presence of global azimuthal correlations. The Pb-Pb values are higher than the p-Pb values at similar multiplicities. In both systems, the second harmonic four-particle cumulants exhibit a transition from positive to negative values when the multiplicity increases. The negative values allow for a measurement of $v_{2}\{4\}$ to be made, which is found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions at similar multiplicities. The second harmonic six-particle cumulants are also found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions. In Pb-Pb collisions, we generally find $v_{2}\{4\} \simeq v_{2}\{6\}\neq 0$ which is indicative of a Bessel-Gaussian function for the $v_{2}$ distribution. For very high-multiplicity Pb-Pb collisions, we observe that the four- and six-particle cumulants become consistent with 0. Finally, third harmonic two-particle cumulants in p-Pb and Pb-Pb are measured. These are found to be similar for overlapping multiplicities, when a $|\Delta\eta| > 1.4$ gap is placed.
We report on the first measurement of inclusive J/$\psi$ elliptic flow, $v_2$, in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV in the rapidity range $2.5 < y < 4.0$. The dependence of the J/$\psi$ $v_2$ on the collision centrality and on the J/$\psi$ transverse momentum is studied in the range $0 < p_{\rm T} < 10$ GeV/$c$. For semi-central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV, an indication of non-zero $v_2$ is observed with a maximum value of $v_2 = 0.116 \pm 0.046 {\rm (stat.)} \pm 0.029 {\rm (syst.)}$ for J/$\psi$ in the transverse momentum range $2 < p_{\rm T} < 4$ GeV/$c$. The elliptic flow measurement complements the previously reported ALICE results on the inclusive J/$\psi$ nuclear modification factor and favors the scenario of a significant fraction of J/$\psi$ production from charm quarks in a deconfined partonic phase.
The elliptic flow coefficient ($v_{2}$) of identified particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{{NN}}} = 2.76$ TeV was measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The results were obtained with the Scalar Product method, a two-particle correlation technique, using a pseudo-rapidity gap of $|\Delta\eta| > 0.9$ between the identified hadron under study and the reference particles. The $v_2$ is reported for $\pi^{\pm}$, $\mathrm{K}^{\pm}$, $\mathrm{K}^0_\mathrm{S}$, p+$\overline{\mathrm{p}}$, $\mathrm{\phi}$, $\Lambda$+$\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda}}$, $\Xi^-$+$\overline{\Xi}^+$ and $\Omega^-$+$\overline{\Omega}^+$ in several collision centralities. In the low transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) region, $p_{\mathrm{T}} < 2 $GeV/$c$, $v_2(p_\mathrm{T})$ exhibits a particle mass dependence consistent with elliptic flow accompanied by the transverse radial expansion of the system with a common velocity field. The experimental data for $\pi^{\pm}$ and $\mathrm{K}$ are described fairly well by hydrodynamical calculations coupled to a hadronic cascade model (VISHNU) for central collisions. However, the same calculations fail to reproduce the $v_2(p_\mathrm{T})$ for p+$\overline{\mathrm{p}}$, $\mathrm{\phi}$, $\Lambda$+$\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda}}$ and $\Xi^-$+$\overline{\Xi}^+$. For transverse momentum values larger than about 3 GeV/$c$, particles tend to group according to their type, i.e. mesons and baryons. However, the experimental data at the LHC exhibit deviations from the number of constituent quark (NCQ) scaling at the level of $\pm$20$\%$ for $p_{\mathrm{T}} > 3 $GeV/$c$.
We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as $v_{2}^{\mathrm{ch~jet}}$. Jet finding is performed employing the anti-$k_{\mathrm{T}}$ algorithm with a resolution parameter $R$ = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero $v_{2}^{\mathrm{ch~jet}}$ is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50\% centrality) for 20 $<$ $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm ch~jet}$ $<$ 90 ${\mathrm{GeV}\kern-0.05em/\kern-0.02em c}$. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the $v_2$ of single charged particles at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$. Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions.
Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range ($2.5 < |\eta| < 4.0$) and associated particles in the central range ($|\eta| < 1.0$) are measured with the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The trigger particles are reconstructed using the muon spectrometer, and the associated particles by the central barrel tracking detectors. In high-multiplicity events, the double-ridge structure, previously discovered in two-particle angular correlations at midrapidity, is found to persist to the pseudorapidity ranges studied in this Letter. The second-order Fourier coefficients for muons in high-multiplicity events are extracted after jet-like correlations from low-multiplicity events have been subtracted. The coefficients are found to have a similar transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) dependence in p-going (p-Pb) and Pb-going (Pb-p) configurations, with the Pb-going coefficients larger by about $16\pm6$%, rather independent of $p_{\rm T}$ within the uncertainties of the measurement. The data are compared with calculations using the AMPT model, which predicts a different $p_{\rm T}$ and $\eta$ dependence than observed in the data. The results are sensitive to the parent particle $v_2$ and composition of reconstructed muon tracks, where the contribution from heavy flavour decays are expected to dominate at $p_{\rm T}>2$ GeV/$c$.
We report the first results of elliptic ($v_2$), triangular ($v_3$) and quadrangular flow ($v_4$) of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the central pseudorapidity region $|\eta|<0.8$ and for the transverse momentum range $0.2<p_{\rm T}<5$ GeV/$c$. The anisotropic flow is measured using two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity gap greater than one unit and with the multi-particle cumulant method. Compared to results from Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV, the anisotropic flow coefficients $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ are found to increase by ($3.0\pm0.6$)%, ($4.3\pm1.4$)% and ($10.2\pm3.8$)%, respectively, in the centrality range 0-50%. This increase can be attributed mostly to an increase of the average transverse momentum between the two energies. The measurements are found to be compatible with hydrodynamic model calculations. This comparison provides a unique opportunity to test the validity of the hydrodynamic picture and the power to further discriminate between various possibilities for the temperature dependence of shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of the produced matter in heavy-ion collisions at the highest energies.
The production of the prompt charmed mesons $D^0$, $D^+$ and $D^{*+}$ relative to the reaction plane was measured in Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decays at central rapidity in the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) interval of 2-16 GeV/$c$. The azimuthal anisotropy is quantified in terms of the second coefficient $v_2$ in a Fourier expansion of the D meson azimuthal distribution, and in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$, measured in the direction of the reaction plane and orthogonal to it. The $v_2$ coefficient was measured with three different methods and in three centrality classes in the interval 0-50%. A positive $v_2$ is observed in mid-central collisions (30-50% centrality class), with an mean value of $0.204_{-0.036}^{+0.099}$ (tot.unc.) in the interval $2 < p_{\rm T} < 6$ GeV/$c$, which decreases towards more central collisions (10-30% and 0-10% classes). The positive $v_2$ is also reflected in the nuclear modification factor, which shows a stronger suppression in the direction orthogonal to the reaction plane for mid-central collisions. The measurements are compared to theoretical calculations of charm quark transport and energy loss in high-density strongly-interacting matter at high temperature. The models that include substantial elastic interactions with an expanding medium provide a good description of the observed anisotropy. However, they are challenged to simultaneously describe the strong suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ yield of D mesons in central collisions and their azimuthal anisotropy in non-central collisions.