Measurements of the elliptic flow coefficient relative to the collision plane defined by the spectator neutrons $v_2${$\Psi_{\rm SP}$} in collisions of Pb ions at center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=2.76 TeV and Xe ions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=5.44 TeV are reported. The results are presented for charged particles produced at midrapidity as a function of centrality and transverse momentum. The ratio between $v_2${$\Psi_{\rm SP}$} and the elliptic flow coefficient relative to the participant plane $v_2$4, estimated using four-particle correlations, deviates by up to 20% from unity depending on centrality. This observation differs strongly from the magnitude of the corresponding eccentricity ratios predicted by the TRENTo and the elliptic power models of initial state fluctuations that are tuned to describe the participant plane anisotropies. The differences can be interpreted as a decorrelation of the neutron spectator plane and the reaction plane because of fragmentation of the remnants from the colliding nuclei, which points to an incompleteness of current models of initial state fluctuations. A significant transverse momentum dependence of the ratio $v_2${$\Psi_{\rm SP}$}/$v_2${4} is observed in all but the most central collisions, which may help to understand whether momentum anisotropies at low and intermediate transverse momentum have a common origin in initial state fluctuations. The ratios of $v_2${$\Psi_{\rm SP}$} and $v_2${4} to the corresponding initial state eccentricities for Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions at similar initial entropy density show a difference of $(7.0 \pm 0.9)$% with an additional variation of +1.8% when including RHIC data in the TRENTo parameter extraction. These observations provide new experimental constraints for viscous effects in the hydrodynamic modeling of the expanding quark-gluon plasma.

The event-by-event correlations between three flow amplitudes are measured for the first time in Pb--Pb collisions, using higher-order Symmetric Cumulants. We find that different three-harmonic correlations develop during the collective evolution of the medium, when compared with correlations that exist in the initial state. These new results cannot be interpreted in terms of previous lower-order flow measurements, since contributions from two-harmonic correlations are explicitly removed in the new observables. Comparison with Monte Carlo simulations provides new and independent constraints for the initial conditions and system properties of nuclear matter created in heavy-ion collisions.

The correlations between different moments of two flow amplitudes, extracted with the recently developed asymmetric cumulants, are measured in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV recorded by the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The magnitudes of the measured observables show a dependence on the different moments as well as on the collision centrality, indicating the presence of non-linear response in all even moments up to the eighth. Furthermore, the higher-order asymmetric cumulants show different signatures than the symmetric and lower-order asymmetric cumulants. Comparisons with state-of-the-art event generators using two different parametrizations obtained from Bayesian optimization show differences between data and simulations in many of the studied observables, indicating a need for further tuning of the models behind those event generators. These results provide new and independent constraints on the initial conditions and transport properties of the system created in heavy-ion collisions.

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).

Differential measurements of charged particle azimuthal anisotropy are presented for lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, based on an integrated luminosity of approximately 8 mb^-1. This anisotropy is characterized via a Fourier expansion of the distribution of charged particles in azimuthal angle (phi), with the coefficients v_n denoting the magnitude of the anisotropy. Significant v_2-v_6 values are obtained as a function of transverse momentum (0.5<pT<20 GeV), pseudorapidity (|eta|<2.5) and centrality using an event plane method. The v_n values for n>=3 are found to vary weakly with both eta and centrality, and their pT dependencies are found to follow an approximate scaling relation, v_n^{1/n}(pT) \propto v_2^{1/2}(pT). A Fourier analysis of the charged particle pair distribution in relative azimuthal angle (Dphi=phi_a-phi_b) is performed to extract the coefficients v_{n,n}=<cos (n Dphi)>. For pairs of charged particles with a large pseudorapidity gap (|Deta=eta_a-eta_b|>2) and one particle with pT<3 GeV, the v_{2,2}-v_{6,6} values are found to factorize as v_{n,n}(pT^a,pT^b) ~ v_n(pT^a)v_n(pT^b) in central and mid-central events. Such factorization suggests that these values of v_{2,2}-v_{6,6} are primarily due to the response of the created matter to the fluctuations in the geometry of the initial state. A detailed study shows that the v_{1,1}(pT^a,pT^b) data are consistent with the combined contributions from a rapidity-even v_1 and global momentum conservation. A two-component fit is used to extract the v_1 contribution. The extracted v_1 is observed to cross zero at pT\sim1.0 GeV, reaches a maximum at 4-5 GeV with a value comparable to that for v_3, and decreases at higher pT.

Measurements of the charge-dependent two-particle angular correlation function in proton-lead (pPb) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV and lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at$\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV are reported. The pPb and PbPb datasets correspond to integrated luminosities of 186\nbinv and 0.607 nb$^{-1}$, respectively, and were collected using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The charge-dependent correlations are characterized by balance functions of same- and opposite-sign particle pairs. The balance functions, which contain information about the creation time of charged particle pairs and the development of collectivity, are studied as functions of relative pseudorapidity ($\Delta \eta$) and relative azimuthal angle ($\Delta \phi$), for various multiplicity and transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) intervals. A multiplicity dependence of the balance function is observed in $\Delta \eta$ and $\Delta \phi$ for both systems. The width of the balance functions decreases towards high-multiplicity collisions in the momentum region $\lt$2 GeV, for pPb and PbPb results. No multiplicity dependence is observed at higher transverse momentum. The data are compared with HYDJET, HIJING and AMPT generator predictions, none of which capture completely the multiplicity dependence seen in the data.

The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has measured the centrality dependence of charged particle pseudorapidity distributions over |eta| < 2 in lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s_NN) = 2.76 TeV. In order to include particles with transverse momentum as low as 30 MeV, the data were recorded with the central solenoid magnet off. Charged particles were reconstructed with two algorithms (2-point 'tracklets' and full tracks) using information from the pixel detector only. The lead-lead collision centrality was characterized by the total transverse energy in the forward calorimeter in the range 3.2 < |eta| < 4.9. Measurements are presented of the per-event charged particle density distribution, dN_ch/deta, and the average charged particle multiplicity in the pseudorapidity interval |eta|<0.5 in several intervals of collision centrality. The results are compared to previous mid-rapidity measurements at the LHC and RHIC. The variation of the mid-rapidity charged particle yield per colliding nucleon pair with the number of participants is consistent with the lower sqrt(s_NN) results. The shape of the dN_ch/deta distribution is found to be independent of centrality within the systematic uncertainties of the measurement.

The collective behavior of K$^0_\mathrm{S}$ and $\Lambda/\bar{\Lambda}$ strange hadrons is studied by measuring the elliptic azimuthal anisotropy ($v_2$) using the scalar-product and multiparticle correlation methods. Proton-lead (pPb) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV and lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC are investigated. Nonflow effects in the pPb collisions are studied by using a subevent cumulant analysis and by excluding events where a jet with transverse momentum greater than 20\GeV is present. The strange hadron $v_2$ values extracted in \pPb collisions via the four- and six-particle correlation method are found to be nearly identical, suggesting the collective behavior. Comparisons of the pPb and PbPb results for both strange hadrons and charged particles illustrate how event-by-event flow fluctuations depend on the system size.

This publication describes the methods used to measure the centrality of inelastic Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV per colliding nucleon pair with ALICE. The centrality is a key parameter in the study of the properties of QCD matter at extreme temperature and energy density, because it is directly related to the initial overlap region of the colliding nuclei. Geometrical properties of the collision, such as the number of participating nucleons and number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, are deduced from a Glauber model with a sharp impact parameter selection, and shown to be consistent with those extracted from the data. The centrality determination provides a tool to compare ALICE measurements with those of other experiments and with theoretical calculations.

The hydrodynamic flow-like behavior of charged hadrons in high-energy lead-lead collisions is studied through multiparticle correlations. The elliptic anisotropy values based on different orders of multiparticle cumulants, $v_{2}\{2k\}$, are measured up to the tenth order ($k$ = 5) as functions of the collision centrality at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The data were recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 0.607 nb$^{-1}$. A hierarchy is observed between the coefficients, with $v_{2}\{2\} > v_{2}\{4\} \gtrsim v_{2}\{6\} \gtrsim v_{2}\{8\} \gtrsim v_{2}\{10\}$. Based on these results, centrality-dependent moments for the fluctuation-driven event-by-event $v_{2}$ distribution are determined, including the skewness, kurtosis and, for the first time, superskewness. Assuming a hydrodynamic expansion of the produced medium, these moments directly probe the initial-state geometry in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions.