The first experimental information on the strong interaction between $\Lambda$ and $\Xi^-$ strange baryons is presented in this Letter. The correlation function of $\Lambda-\Xi^-$ and $\overline{\Lambda}-\overline{\Xi}^{+}$ pairs produced in high-multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the LHC is measured as a function of the relative momentum of the pair. The femtoscopy method is used to calculate the correlation function, which is then compared with theoretical expectations obtained using a meson exchange model, chiral effective field theory, and Lattice QCD calculations close to the physical point. Data support predictions of small scattering parameters while discarding versions with large ones, thus suggesting a weak $\Lambda-\Xi^{-}$ interaction. The limited statistical significance of the data does not yet allow one to constrain the effects of coupled channels like $\Sigma-\Xi$ and N$-\Omega$.

The measurement of the production of charm jets, identified by the presence of a ${\rm D^0}$ meson in the jet constituents, is presented in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 and 13 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The ${\rm D^0}$ mesons were reconstructed from their hadronic decay ${\rm D^0} \rightarrow {\rm K^-}\pi^+$ and the respective charge conjugate. Jets were reconstructed from ${\rm D^0}$-meson candidates and charged particles using the anti-$k_{\rm T}$ algorithm, in the jet transverse momentum range $5<p_{\rm T;chjet}<50$ GeV/$c$, pseudorapidity $|\eta_{\rm jet}| <0.9-R$, and with the jet resolution parameters $R$ = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6. The distribution of the jet momentum fraction carried by a ${\rm D^0}$ meson along the jet axis ($z^{\rm ch}_{||}$) was measured in the range $0.4 < z^{\rm ch}_{||} < 1.0$ in four ranges of the jet transverse momentum. Comparisons of results for different collision energies and jet resolution parameters are also presented. The measurements are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo event generators based on leading-order and next-to-leading-order perturbative quantum chromodynamics calculations. A generally good description of the main features of the data is obtained in spite of a few discrepancies at low $p_{\rm T;chjet}$. Measurements were also done for $R = 0.3$ at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV and are shown along with their comparisons to theoretical predictions in an appendix to this paper.

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.

Fluctuation measurements are important sources of information on the mechanism of particle production at LHC energies. This article reports the first experimental results on third-order cumulants of the net-proton distributions in Pb$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV recorded by the ALICE detector. The results on the second-order cumulants of net-proton distributions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ and $5.02$ TeV are also discussed in view of effects due to the global and local baryon number conservation. The results demonstrate the presence of long-range rapidity correlations between protons and antiprotons. Such correlations originate from the early phase of the collision. The experimental results are compared with HIJING and EPOS model calculations, and the dependence of the fluctuation measurements on the phase-space coverage is examined in the context of lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) and hadron resonance gas (HRG) model estimations. The measured third-order cumulants are consistent with zero within experimental uncertainties of about 4% and are described well by LQCD and HRG predictions.

The production yields of non-prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ mesons, namely $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ mesons from beauty-hadron decays, were measured for the first time as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) in central and semi-central Pb$-$Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ mesons and their charge conjugates were reconstructed from the hadronic decay channel $\mathrm{D_s}^{+} \to \phi\pi^+$, with $\phi \to {\rm K}^-{\rm K}^+$, in the $4 < p_{\rm T}<36$ GeV/$c$ and $2 < p_{\rm T}<24$ GeV/$c$ intervals for the 0$-$10% and 30$-$50% centrality classes, respectively. The measured yields of non-prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ mesons are compared to those of prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ and non-prompt $\mathrm{D^0}$ mesons by calculating the ratios of the production yields in Pb$-$Pb collisions and the nuclear modification factor $R_\mathrm{AA}$. The ratio between the $R_\mathrm{AA}$ of non-prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ and prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ mesons, and that between the $R_\mathrm{AA}$ of non-prompt $\mathrm{D_s}^{+}$ and non-prompt $\mathrm{D^0}$ mesons in central Pb$-$Pb collisions are found to be on average higher than unity in the $4< p_{\rm T}<12$ GeV/$c$ interval with a statistical significance of about $1.6\,\sigma$ and $1.7\,\sigma$, respectively. The measured $R_\mathrm{AA}$ ratios are compared with the predictions of theoretical models of heavy-quark transport in a hydrodynamically expanding QGP that incorporate hadronisation via quark recombination.

Production of inclusive charmonia in pp collisions at center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and p-Pb collisions at center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV is studied as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density with ALICE. Ground and excited charmonium states (J/$\psi$, $\psi$(2S)) are measured from their dimuon decays in the interval of rapidity in the center-of-mass frame $2.5 < y_{\rm cms} < 4.0$ for pp collisions, and $2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$ and $-4.46 < y_{\rm cms} < -2.96$ for p-Pb collisions. The charged-particle pseudorapidity density is measured around midrapidity ($|\eta|<1.0$). In pp collisions, the measured charged-particle multiplicity extends to about six times the average value, while in p-Pb collisions at forward (backward) rapidity a multiplicity corresponding to about three (four) times the average is reached. The $\psi$(2S) yield increases with the charged-particle pseudorapidity density. The ratio of $\psi$(2S) over J/$\psi$ yield does not show a significant multiplicity dependence in either colliding system, suggesting a similar behavior of J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) yields with respect to charged-particle pseudorapidity density. Results for the $\psi$(2S) yield and its ratio with respect to J/$\psi$ agree with available model calculations.

The cross section for coherent photonuclear production of J/$\psi$ is presented as a function of the electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of Pb. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV. Cross sections are presented in five different J/$\psi$ rapidity ranges within $|y|<4$, with the J/$\psi$ reconstructed via its dilepton decay channels. In some events the J/$\psi$ is not accompanied by EMD, while other events do produce neutrons from EMD at beam rapidities either in one or the other beam direction, or in both. The cross sections in a given rapidity range and for different configurations of neutrons from EMD allow for the extraction of the energy dependence of this process in the range $17 < W_{\gamma\, \mathrm{Pb, n}} <920$ GeV, where $W_{\gamma\, \mathrm{Pb, n}}$ is the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the $\gamma\,\mathrm{Pb}$ system. This range corresponds to a Bjorken-$x$ interval spanning about three orders of magnitude: $ 1.1\times10^{-5}<x<3.3\times 10^{-2}$. In addition to the ultra-peripheral and photonuclear cross sections, the nuclear suppression factor is obtained. These measurements point to a strong depletion of the gluon distribution in Pb nuclei over a broad, previously unexplored, energy range. These results, together with previous ALICE measurements, provide unprecedented information to probe quantum chromodynamics at high energies.

The production of inclusive, prompt and non-prompt J/$\psi$ was studied for the first time at midrapidity ($ -1.37 < y_{\rm cms} < 0.43$) in p$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 8.16$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The inclusive J/$\psi$ mesons were reconstructed in the dielectron decay channel in the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) interval $0 < p_{\rm T} < 14$ GeV/$c$ and the prompt and non-prompt contributions were separated on a statistical basis for $p_{\rm T} > 2$ GeV/$c$. The study of the J/$\psi$ mesons in the dielectron channel used for the first time in ALICE online single-electron triggers from the Transition Radiation Detector, providing a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $689 \pm 13 \mu{\rm b}^{-1}$. The proton$-$proton reference cross section for inclusive J/$\psi$ was obtained based on interpolations of measured data at different centre-of-mass energies and a universal function describing the $p_{\rm T}$-differential J/$\psi$ production cross sections. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential nuclear modification factors $R_{\rm pPb}$ of inclusive, prompt, and non-prompt J/$\psi$ are consistent with unity and described by theoretical models implementing only nuclear shadowing.

Measurements of the production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV at midrapidity with the ALICE detector are presented down to a transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) of 0.2 GeV$/c$ and up to $p_{\rm T} = 35$ GeV$/c$, which is the largest momentum range probed for inclusive electron measurements in ALICE. In p$-$Pb collisions, the production cross section and the nuclear modification factor of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays are measured in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.5 < p_{\rm T} < 26$ GeV$/c$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 8.16$ TeV. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity within the statistical and systematic uncertainties. In both collision systems, first measurements of the yields of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in different multiplicity intervals normalised to the multiplicity-integrated yield (self-normalised yield) at midrapidity are reported as a function of the self-normalised charged-particle multiplicity estimated at midrapidity. The self-normalised yields in pp and p$-$Pb collisions grow faster than linear with the self-normalised multiplicity. A strong $p_{\rm T}$ dependence is observed in pp collisions, where the yield of high-$p_{\rm T}$ electrons increases faster as a function of multiplicity than the one of low-$p_{\rm T}$ electrons. The measurement in p$-$Pb collisions shows no $p_{\rm T}$ dependence within uncertainties. The self-normalised yields in pp and p$-$Pb collisions are compared with measurements of other heavy-flavour, light-flavour, and strange particles, and with Monte Carlo simulations.

The first measurements of elliptic flow of $\pi^\pm$, ${\rm K}^\pm$, p+$\overline{\rm p}$, ${\rm K_{S}^0}$, $\Lambda$+$\overline{\Lambda}$, $\phi$, $\Xi^-$+$\Xi^+$, and $\Omega^-$+$\Omega^+$ using multiparticle cumulants in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV are presented. Results obtained with two- ($v_2\{2\}$) and four-particle cumulants ($v_2\{4\}$) are shown as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, for various collision centrality intervals. Combining the data for both $v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$ also allows us to report the first measurements of the mean elliptic flow, elliptic flow fluctuations, and relative elliptic flow fluctuations for various hadron species. These observables probe the event-by-event eccentricity fluctuations in the initial state and the contributions from the dynamic evolution of the expanding quark-gluon plasma. The characteristic features observed in previous $p_{\rm T}$-differential anisotropic flow measurements for identified hadrons with two-particle correlations, namely the mass ordering at low $p_{\rm T}$ and the approximate scaling with the number of constituent quarks at intermediate $p_{\rm T}$, are similarly present in the four-particle correlations and the combinations of $v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$. In addition, a particle species dependence of flow fluctuations is observed that could indicate a significant contribution from final state hadronic interactions. The comparison between experimental measurements and CoLBT model calculations, which combine the various physics processes of hydrodynamics, quark coalescence, and jet fragmentation, illustrates their importance over a wide $p_{\rm T}$ range.