Measurements of strange hadron (K0s, Lambda + anti-Lambda, and Xi+ + Xi-) transverse momentum spectra in pp, pPb, and PbPb collisions are presented over a wide range of rapidity and event charged-particle multiplicity. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, pPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 5.02 TeV, and PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV. The average transverse kinetic energy is found to increase with multiplicity, at a faster rate for heavier strange particle species in all systems. At similar multiplicities, the difference in average transverse kinetic energy between different particle species is observed to be larger for pp and pPb events than for PbPb events. In pPb collisions, the average transverse kinetic energy is found to be slightly larger in the Pb-going direction than in the p-going direction for events with large multiplicity. The spectra are compared to models motivated by hydrodynamics.
The production of the strange and double-strange baryon resonances ($\Sigma(1385)^{\pm}$, $\Xi(1530)^{0}$) has been measured at mid-rapidity ($\left | y \right |<0.5$) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. Transverse momentum spectra for inelastic collisions are compared to QCD-inspired models, which in general underpredict the data. A search for the $\phi(1860)$ pentaquark, decaying in the $\Xi\pi$ channel, has been carried out but no evidence is seen.
Hadronic resonances are used to probe the hadron gas produced in the late stage of heavy-ion collisions since they decay on the same timescale, of the order of 1 to 10 fm/$c$, as the decoupling time of the system. In the hadron gas, (pseudo)elastic scatterings among the products of resonances that decayed before the kinetic freeze-out and regeneration processes counteract each other, the net effect depending on the resonance lifetime, the duration of the hadronic phase, and the hadronic cross sections at play. In this context, the $\Sigma(1385)^{\pm}$ particle is of particular interest as models predict that regeneration dominates over rescattering despite its relatively short lifetime of about 5.5 fm/$c$. The first measurement of the $\Sigma(1385)^{\pm}$ resonance production at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}= 5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector is presented in this Letter. The resonances are reconstructed via their hadronic decay channel, $\Lambda\pi$, as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) and the collision centrality. The results are discussed in comparison with the measured yield of pions and with expectations from the statistical hadronization model as well as commonly employed event generators, including PYTHIA8/Angantyr and EPOS3 coupled to the UrQMD hadronic cascade afterburner. None of the models can describe the data. For $\Sigma(1385)^{\pm}$, a similar behaviour as ${\rm K}^{*} (892)^{0}$ is observed in data unlike the predictions of EPOS3 with afterburner.
The transverse momentum distributions of the strange and double-strange hyperon resonances ($\Sigma(1385)^{\pm}$, $\Xi(1530)^{0}$) produced in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV were measured in the rapidity range $-0.5< y_{\rm{CMS}}<0$ for event classes corresponding to different charged-particle multiplicity densities, $\langle{\rm d}N_{\rm{ch}}/{\rm d}\eta_{\rm{lab}}\rangle$. The mean transverse momentum values are presented as a function of $\langle{\rm d}N_{\rm{ch}}/{\rm d}\eta_{\rm{lab}}\rangle$, as well as a function of the particle masses and compared with previous results on hyperon production. The integrated yield ratios of excited to ground-state hyperons are constant as a function of $\langle{\rm d}N_{\rm{ch}}/{\rm d}\eta_{\rm{lab}}\rangle$. The equivalent ratios to pions exhibit an increase with $\langle{\rm d}N_{\rm{ch}}/{\rm d}\eta_{\rm{lab}}\rangle$, depending on their strangeness content.
In this Letter, comprehensive results on ${\rm\pi}^\pm$, K$^\pm$, K$^0_S$, p, $\rm\bar{p}$, $\rm \Lambda$ and $\rm \bar{\Lambda}$ production at mid-rapidity ($0 < y_{\rm cms} < 0.5$) in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, measured by the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. The transverse momentum distributions exhibit a hardening as a function of event multiplicity, which is stronger for heavier particles. This behavior is similar to what has been observed in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC. The measured $p_{\rm T}$ distributions are compared to results at lower energy and with predictions based on QCD-inspired and hydrodynamic models.
The production of K$^{*}$(892)$^{0}$ and $\phi$(1020) mesons has been measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. K$^{*0}$ and $\phi$ are reconstructed via their decay into charged hadrons with the ALICE detector in the rapidity range $-0.5 < y <0$. The transverse momentum spectra, measured as a function of the multiplicity, have p$_{\mathrm{T}}$ range from 0 to 15 GeV/$c$ for K$^{*0}$ and from 0.3 to 21 GeV/$c$ for $\phi$. Integrated yields, mean transverse momenta and particle ratios are reported and compared with results in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV. In Pb-Pb and p-Pb collisions, K$^{*0}$ and $\phi$ probe the hadronic phase of the system and contribute to the study of particle formation mechanisms by comparison with other identified hadrons. For this purpose, the mean transverse momenta and the differential proton-to-$\phi$ ratio are discussed as a function of the multiplicity of the event. The short-lived K$^{*0}$ is measured to investigate re-scattering effects, believed to be related to the size of the system and to the lifetime of the hadronic phase.
The production of the $\Lambda$(1520) baryonic resonance has been measured at midrapidity in inelastic pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV and in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV for non-single diffractive events and in multiplicity classes. The resonance is reconstructed through its hadronic decay channel $\Lambda$(1520) $\rightarrow$ pK$^{-}$ and the charge conjugate with the ALICE detector. The integrated yields and mean transverse momenta are calculated from the measured transverse momentum distributions in pp and p-Pb collisions. The mean transverse momenta follow mass ordering as previously observed for other hyperons in the same collision systems. A Blast-Wave function constrained by other light hadrons ($\pi$, K, K$_{\rm{S}}^0$, p, $\Lambda$) describes the shape of the $\Lambda$(1520) transverse momentum distribution up to 3.5 GeV/$c$ in p-Pb collisions. In the framework of this model, this observation suggests that the $\Lambda(1520)$ resonance participates in the same collective radial flow as other light hadrons. The ratio of the yield of $\Lambda(1520)$ to the yield of the ground state particle $\Lambda$ remains constant as a function of charged-particle multiplicity, suggesting that there is no net effect of the hadronic phase in p-Pb collisions on the $\Lambda$(1520) yield.