The production cross sections of the prompt charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, D$^{*+}$ and D$_s$ were measured at mid-rapidity in p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. D mesons were reconstructed from their decays D$^0\rightarrow{\rm K}^-\pi^+$, D$^+\rightarrow{\rm K}^-\pi^+\pi^+$, D$^{*+}\rightarrow D^0\pi^+$, D$_s^+\rightarrow\phi\pi^+\rightarrow{\rm K}^-{\rm K}^+\pi^+$, and their charge conjugates. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections were measured at mid-rapidity in the interval $1<p_{\rm T}<24$ GeV/$c$ for D$^0$, D$^+$ and D$^{*+}$ mesons and in $2<p_{\rm T}<12$ GeV/$c$ for D$_s$ mesons, using an analysis method based on the selection of decay topologies displaced from the interaction vertex. The production cross sections of the D$^0$, D$^+$ and D$^{*+}$ mesons were also measured in three $p_{\rm T}$ intervals as a function of the rapidity $y_{\rm cms}$ in the centre-of-mass system in $-1.26<y_{\rm cms}<0.34$. In addition, the prompt D$^0$ cross section was measured in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV down to $p_{\rm T}=0$ using an analysis technique that is based on the estimation and subtraction of the combinatorial background, without reconstruction of the D$^0$ decay vertex. The nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm pPb}(p_{\rm T})$, defined as the ratio of the $p_{\rm T}$-differential D-meson cross section in p-Pb collisions and that in pp collisions scaled by the mass number of the Pb nucleus, was calculated for the four D-meson species and found to be compatible with unity within experimental uncertainties. The results are compared to theoretical calculations that include cold-nuclear-matter effects and to transport model calculations incorporating the interactions of charm quarks with an expanding deconfined medium.
Inclusive J/$\psi$ production is studied in minimum-bias proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV by ALICE at the CERN LHC. The measurement is performed at mid-rapidity ($|y| < 0.9$) in the dielectron decay channel down to zero transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $L_{\rm int} = 19.4 \pm$ 0.4 nb$^{-1}$. The measured $p_{\rm T}$-integrated inclusive J/$\psi$ production cross section is d$\sigma$/d$y$ = 5.64 $\pm$ 0.22 (stat.) $\pm 0.33$ (syst.) $\pm 0.12$ (lumi.) $\mu$b. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential cross section d$^{2} \sigma$/d$p_{\rm T}$d$y$ is measured in the $p_{\rm T}$ range 0$-$10 GeV/$c$ and compared with state-of-the-art perturbative QCD calculations. The J/$\psi$ $\langle p_{\rm T} \rangle$ and $\langle p_{\rm T}^{2} \rangle$ are extracted and compared with results obtained at other collision energies.
The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow $K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow $K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow $D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.
The production of muons from heavy flavour decays is measured at forward rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV collected with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The analysis is carried out on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity $L_{\rm int} = 16.5$ nb$^{-1}$. The transverse momentum and rapidity differential production cross sections of muons from heavy flavour decays are measured in the rapidity range 2.5 < y < 4, over the transverse momentum range 2 < $p_{\rm T}$ < 12 GeV/$c$. The results are compared to predictions based on perturbative QCD calculations.
The ALICE collaboration performed the first rapidity-differential measurement of coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The J/$\psi$ is detected via its dimuon decay in the forward rapidity region ($-4.0 < y < -2.5$) for events where the hadronic activity is required to be minimal. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 750 $\mu$b$^{-1}$. The cross section for coherent J/$\psi$ production is presented in six rapidity bins. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction. These comparisons indicate that gluon shadowing effects play a role in the photoproduction process. The ratio of $\psi'$ to J/$\psi$ coherent photoproduction cross sections was measured and found to be consistent with that measured for photoproduction off protons.
Cross sections for the coherent photoproduction of $\rho^{0}$ vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}= 5.02$ TeV are reported. The measurements, which rely on the $\pi^+\pi^-$ decay channel, are presented in three regions of rapidity covering the range $|y|<0.8$. For each rapidity interval, cross sections are shown for different nuclear-breakup classes defined according to the presence of neutrons measured in the zero-degree calorimeters. The results are compared with predictions based on different models of nuclear shadowing. Finally, the observation of a coherently produced resonance-like structure with a mass around 1.7 GeV/$c^2$ and a width of about 140 MeV/$c^2$ is reported and compared with similar observations from other experiments.
The coherent photoproduction of $\rm{J/\psi}$ and $\rm{\psi'}$ mesons was measured in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector. Charmonia are detected in the central rapidity region for events where the hadronic interactions are strongly suppressed. The $\rm{J/\psi}$ is reconstructed using the dilepton ($l^{+} l^{-}$) and proton-antiproton decay channels, while for the $\rm{\psi'}$, the dilepton and the $l^{+} l^{-} \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decay channels are studied. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 233 ${\mu b}^{-1}$. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent $\rm{J/\psi}$ and $\rm{\psi'}$ photoproduction. The coherent cross section is found to be in a good agreement with models incorporating moderate nuclear gluon shadowing of about 0.65 at a Bjorken-$x$ of around $6\times 10^{-4}$, such as the EPS09 parametrization, however none of the models is able to fully describe the rapidity dependence of the coherent $\rm{J/\psi}$ cross section including ALICE measurements at forward rapidity. The ratio of $\rm{\psi'}$ to $\rm{J/\psi}$ coherent photoproduction cross sections was also measured and found to be consistent with the one for photoproduction off protons.
The production of $\Upsilon$ mesons in Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5 TeV is measured with the muon spectrometer of the ALICE detector at the LHC. The yields as well as the nuclear modification factors are determined in the forward rapidity region $2.5<y<4.0$, as a function of rapidity, transverse momentum and collision centrality. The results show that the production of the $\Upsilon$(1S) meson is suppressed by a factor of about three with respect to the production in proton-proton collisions. For the first time, a significant signal for the $\Upsilon$(2S) meson is observed at forward rapidity, indicating a suppression stronger by about a factor 2-3 with respect to the ground state. The measurements are compared with transport, hydrodynamic, comover and statistical hadronisation model calculations.
The ALICE Collaboration has measured the energy dependence of exclusive photoproduction of $J/\psi$ vector mesons off proton targets in ultra-peripheral p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. The e$^+$e$^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ decay channels are used to measure the cross section as a function of the rapidity of the $J/\psi$ in the range $-2.5 < y < 2.7$, corresponding to an energy in the $\gamma$p centre-of-mass in the interval $40 < W_{\gamma\mathrm{p}}<550$ GeV. The measurements, which are consistent with a power law dependence of the exclusive $J/\psi$ photoproduction cross section, are compared to previous results from HERA and the LHC and to several theoretical models. They are found to be compatible with previous measurements.
The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of $\rho^{0}$ vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe-Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{\rm NN}}}= 5.44$ TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA $\gamma$p data and $\gamma$-Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number ($A$) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the ${\rm Xe}+{\rm Xe} \to \rho^{0} + {\rm Xe}+{\rm Xe}$ process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel $\rho^{0}\to\pi^+\pi^-$, is found to be ${\rm d}\sigma/{\rm d}y=131.5\pm 5.6 {\rm (stat.)} ^{+17.5}_{-16.9} {\rm (syst.)}$ mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on $A$ of cross section for the coherent $\rho^{0}$ photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the $\gamma A$ system of $W_{\gamma A,n}= 65$ GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour $\sigma (\gamma A\rightarrow \rho^{0} A) \propto A^{\alpha}$ with a slope $\alpha = 0.96 \pm 0.02 {\rm (syst.)}$. This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.