We report on the first femtoscopic measurement of baryon pairs, such as p-p, p-$\Lambda$ and $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$, measured by ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. This study demonstrates the feasibility of such measurements in pp collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. The femtoscopy method is employed to constrain the hyperon-nucleon and hyperon-hyperon interactions, which are still rather poorly understood. A new method to evaluate the influence of residual correlations induced by the decays of resonances and experimental impurities is hereby presented. The p-p, p-$\Lambda$ and $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$ correlation functions were fitted simultaneously with the help of a new tool developed specifically for the femtoscopy analysis in small colliding systems 'Correlation Analysis Tool using the Schr\"odinger Equation' (CATS). Within the assumption that in pp collisions the three particle pairs originate from a common source, its radius is found to be equal to $r_{0} = 1.144\pm0.019$ (stat) $^{+0.069}_{-0.012}$ (syst) fm. The sensitivity of the measured p-$\Lambda$ correlation is tested against different scattering parameters which are defined by the interaction among the two particles, but the statistics is not sufficient yet to discriminate among different models. The measurement of the $\Lambda$-$\Lambda$ correlation function constrains the phase space spanned by the effective range and scattering length of the strong interaction. Discrepancies between the measured scattering parameters and the resulting correlation functions at LHC and RHIC energies are discussed in the context of various models.
The p$-$p $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\overline{\mathrm{p}}$ correlation function.
The p$-\Lambda$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\mathrm{p}}-\overline{\Lambda}$ correlation function.
The $\Lambda-\Lambda$ $\oplus$ $\overline{\Lambda}-\overline{\Lambda}$ correlation function.
Measurement of Z-boson production in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=8.16$ TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV is reported. It is performed in the dimuon decay channel, through the detection of muons with pseudorapidity $-4 < \eta_{\mu} < -2.5$ and transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}^{\mu} > 20$ GeV/$c$ in the laboratory frame. The invariant yield and nuclear modification factor are measured for opposite-sign dimuons with invariant mass $60 < m^{\mu\mu} < 120$ GeV$c^2$ and rapidity $2.5 < y_{cms}^{\mu\mu} < 4$. They are presented as a function of rapidity and, for the Pb-Pb collisions, of centrality as well. The results are compared with theoretical calculations, both with and without nuclear modifications to the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs). In p-Pb collisions the center-of-mass frame is boosted with respect to the laboratory frame, and the measurements cover the backward ($-4.46< y_{cms}^{\mu\mu}<-2.96$) and forward ($2.03< y_{cms}^{\mu\mu}<3.53$) rapidity regions. For the p-Pb collisions, the results are consistent within experimental and theoretical uncertainties with calculations that include both free-nucleon and nuclear-modified PDFs. For the Pb-Pb collisions, a $3.4\sigma$ deviation is seen in the integrated yield between the data and calculations based on the free-nucleon PDFs, while good agreement is found once nuclear modifications are considered.
Differential fiducial cross section in p-Pb
Integrated fiducial invariant yield in Pb-Pb
Rapidity differential fiducial invariant yield in Pb-Pb
The production of the W$^\pm$ bosons measured in p$-$Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon$-$nucleon collision $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 8.16$ TeV and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC is presented. The W$^\pm$ bosons are measured via their muonic decay channel, with the muon reconstructed in the pseudorapidity region $-4 < \eta^\mu_{\rm lab} < -2.5$ with transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}^\mu > 10$ GeV/$c$. While in Pb$-$Pb collisions the measurements are performed in the forward ($2.5 < y^\mu_{\rm cms} < 4$) rapidity region, in p$-$Pb collisions, where the centre-of-mass frame is boosted with respect to the laboratory frame, the measurements are performed in the backward ($-4.46 < y^\mu_{\rm cms} < -2.96$) and forward ($2.03 < y^\mu_{\rm cms} < 3.53$) rapidity regions. The W$^{-}$ and W$^{+}$ production cross sections, lepton-charge asymmetry, and nuclear modification factors are evaluated as a function of the muon rapidity. In order to study the production as a function of the p$-$Pb collision centrality, the production cross sections of the W$^{-}$ and W$^{+}$ bosons are combined and normalised to the average number of binary nucleon$-$nucleon collision $\langle N_\mathrm{coll} \rangle$. In Pb$-$Pb collisions, the same measurements are presented as a function of the collision centrality. Study of the binary scaling of the W$^\pm$-boson cross sections in p$-$Pb and Pb$-$Pb collisions is also reported. The results are compared with perturbative QCD (pQCD) calculations, with and without nuclear modifications of the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs), as well as with available data at the LHC. Significant deviations from the theory expectations are found in the two collision systems, indicating that the measurements can provide additional constraints for the determination of nuclear PDF (nPDFs) and in particular of the light-quark distributions.
d$\sigma$ / d$y$ of muons from W decays in p-Pb, in full fiducial region
d$\sigma$ / d$y$ of muons from W decays in p-Pb, in rapidity bins
Lepton-charge asymmetry $A_{ch} = \frac{N_{\mu^+} - N_{\mu^-}}{N_{\mu^+} + N_{\mu^-}}$ in p-Pb
The W and Z boson production was measured via the muonic decay channel in proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider with the ALICE detector. The measurement covers backward ($-4.46 < y_{\rm cms} < -2.96$) and forward ($2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$) rapidity regions, corresponding to Pb-going and p-going directions, respectively. The Z-boson production cross section, with dimuon invariant mass of $60<m_{\mu\mu}<120$ GeV/$c^2$ and muon transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}^\mu$) larger than 20 GeV/$c$, is measured. The production cross section and charge asymmetry of muons from W-boson decays with $p_{\rm T}^\mu>10$ GeV/$c$ are determined. The results are compared to theoretical calculations both with and without including the nuclear modification of the parton distribution functions. The W-boson production is also studied as a function of the collision centrality: the cross section of muons from W-boson decays is found to scale with the average number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions within uncertainties.
Z-boson production cross section in the dimuon decay channel at backward and forward rapidities measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic.
Cross section of $\mu^{+}$ from W$^{+}$ boson decay at backward and forward rapidities measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic.
Cross section of $\mu^{-}$ from W$^{-}$ boson decay at backward and forward rapidities measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic.
We report about the properties of the underlying event measured with ALICE at the LHC in pp and p$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The event activity, quantified by charged-particle number and summed-$p_{\rm T}$ densities, is measured as a function of the leading-particle transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$). These quantities are studied in three azimuthal-angle regions relative to the leading particle in the event: toward, away, and transverse. Results are presented for three different $p_{\rm T}$ thresholds (0.15, 0.5, and 1 GeV/$c$) at mid-pseudorapidity ($|\eta|<0.8$). The event activity in the transverse region, which is the most sensitive to the underlying event, exhibits similar behaviour in both pp and p$-$Pb collisions, namely, a steep increase with $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ for low $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$, followed by a saturation at $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig} \approx 5$ GeV/$c$. The results from pp collisions are compared with existing measurements at other centre-of-mass energies. The quantities in the toward and away regions are also analyzed after the subtraction of the contribution measured in the transverse region. The remaining jet-like particle densities are consistent in pp and p$-$Pb collisions for $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}>10$ GeV/$c$, whereas for lower $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ values the event activity is slightly higher in p$-$Pb than in pp collisions. The measurements are compared with predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC Monte Carlo event generators.
Fig. 4: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Transverse, Away, and Toward regions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
Fig. 5: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Transverse, Away, and Toward regions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
Fig. 6a: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Away and Toward regions after the subtraction of Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ distributions in the transverse region for pp collisions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
This article reports measurements characterizing the Underlying Event (UE) associated with hard scatterings at midrapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. The hard scatterings are identified by the leading particle, the charged particle with the highest transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}^{\rm leading}$) in the event. Charged-particle number and summed transverse-momentum densities are measured in different azimuthal regions defined with respect to the leading particle direction: Toward, Transverse, and Away. The Toward and Away regions contain the fragmentation products of the hard scatterings in addition to the UE contribution, whereas particles in the Transverse region are expected to originate predominantly from the UE. The study is performed as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm leading}$ with three different $p_{\rm T}$ thresholds for the associated particles, $p_{\rm T}^{\rm min} >$ 0.15, 0.5, and 1.0 GeV/$c$. The charged-particle density in the Transverse region rises steeply for low values of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm leading}$ and reaches a plateau. The results confirm the trend that the charged-particle density in the Transverse region shows a stronger increase with $\sqrt{s}$ than the inclusive charged-particle density at midrapidity. The UE activity is increased by approximately 20% when going from 7 to 13 TeV. The plateau in the Transverse region ($5 < p_{\rm T}^{\rm leading} < ~ 40$ GeV/$c$ ) is further characterized by the probability distribution of its charged-particle multiplicity normalized to its average value (relative transverse activity, $R_{T}$) and the mean transverse momentum as a function of $R_{T}$. Experimental results are compared to model calculations using PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC. The overall agreement between models and data is within 30%. These measurements provide new insights on the interplay between hard scatterings and the associated UE in pp collisions.
Fig. 3: Number density $N_{ch}$ (left) and $\\Sigma p_{T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{T}^{leading}$ in Toward, Transverse, and Away regions for $p_{T}^{track} >$ 0.15 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas represent the systematic uncertainties and vertical error bars indicate statistical uncertainties.
Fig. 9: R_T probability distribution in the Transverse region for $p_{T}^{track} >$ 0.15 GeV/$c$ and $|\\eta|<$ 0.8. The result (solid circles) is compared to the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC calculations (lines). The red line represents the result of the NBD fit, where the multiplicity is scaled by its mean value, m. The parameter k is related to the standard deviation of the distribution via $\\sigma$ = $\\sqrt{ \\frac{1}{m} + \\frac{1}{k} }$. The open boxes represent the systematic uncertainties and vertical error bars indicate statistical uncertainties. No uncertainties are shown for the MC calculations. The bottom panel shows the ratio between the NBD fit, as well as those of the MC to the data.
Fig. 10: $<p_{T}>$ in the Transverse region as a function of $R_{T}$ for $p_{T}^{track} >$ 0.15 GeV/$c$ and $|\\eta|<$ 0.8. Data (solid circles) are compared to the results of PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC calculations (lines). The open boxes represent the systematic uncertainties and vertical error bars indicate statistical uncertainties. No uncertainties are shown for the MC calculations. The bottom panel shows the ratio of the MC to data.
We present measurements of Underlying Event observables in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 and 7 TeV. The analysis is performed as a function of the highest charged-particle transverse momentum $p_{\rm T, LT}$ in the event. Different regions are defined with respect to the azimuthal direction of the leading (highest transverse momentum) track: Toward, Transverse and Away. The Toward and Away regions collect the fragmentation products of the hardest partonic interaction. The Transverse region is expected to be most sensitive to the Underlying Event activity. The study is performed with charged particles above three different $p_{\rm T}$ thresholds: 0.15, 0.5 and 1.0 GeV/$c$. In the Transverse region we observe an increase in the multiplicity of a factor 2-3 between the lower and higher collision energies, depending on the track $p){\rm T}$ threshold considered. Data are compared to Pythia 6.4, Pythia 8.1 and Phojet. On average, all models considered underestimate the multiplicity and summed $p_{\rm T}$ in the Transverse region by about 10-30%.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 900 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.15 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 7000 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.15 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
Number density as a function of the leading charged-particle PT at a centre-mass-energy of 900 GeV for events having charged-particle PT > 0.5 GeV. The data is shown for the three azimuthal regions.
We report the results of the femtoscopic analysis of pairs of identical pions measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV. Femtoscopic radii are determined as a function of event multiplicity and pair momentum in three spatial dimensions. As in the pp collision system, the analysis is complicated by the presence of sizable background correlation structures in addition to the femtoscopic signal. The radii increase with event multiplicity and decrease with pair transverse momentum. When taken at comparable multiplicity, the radii measured in p-Pb collisions, at high multiplicity and low pair transverse momentum, are 10-20% higher than those observed in pp collisions but below those observed in A-A collisions. The results are compared to hydrodynamic predictions at large event multiplicity as well as discussed in the context of calculations based on gluon saturation.
Definition of the V0A multiplicity classes and their corresponding $ <\mathrm{d}N_{\rm ch}/\mathrm{d}\eta> $. The given uncertainties are systematic only since the statistical ones are negligible.
Femtoscopic radii (GGG fit) in out direction as a function of pair transverse momentum for four V0A multiplicity classes.
Femtoscopic radii (GGG fit) in side direction as a function of pair transverse momentum for four V0A multiplicity classes.
We report on the measurement of two-pion correlation functions from pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=900$ GeV performed by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Our analysis shows an increase of the HBT radius with increasing event multiplicity, in line with other measurements done in particle- and nuclear collisions. Conversely, the strong decrease of the radius with increasing transverse momentum, as observed at RHIC and at Tevatron, is not manifest in our data.
Two-particle correlation functions for like-sign and unlike sign pion pairs.
Two-particle correlation functions for like-sign and unlike sign pion pairs.
Two-particle correlation functions for like-sign and unlike sign pion pairs.
The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC.
Projections of the correlation function C.
Projections of the correlation function C.
Projections of the correlation function C.
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