We study charged particle production in proton-antiproton collisions at 300 GeV, 900 GeV, and 1.96 TeV. We use the direction of the charged particle with the largest transverse momentum in each event to define three regions of eta-phi space; toward, away, and transverse. The average number and the average scalar pT sum of charged particles in the transverse region are sensitive to the modeling of the underlying event. The transverse region is divided into a MAX and MIN transverse region, which helps separate the hard component (initial and final-state radiation) from the beam-beam remnant and multiple parton interaction components of the scattering. The center-of-mass energy dependence of the various components of the event are studied in detail. The data presented here can be used to constrain and improve QCD Monte Carlo models, resulting in more precise predictions at the LHC energies of 13 and 14 TeV.
We report a measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry, $A_{FB}$, in $b\bar{b}$ pairs produced in proton-antiproton collisions and identified by muons from semileptonic $b$-hadron decays. The event sample was collected at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV with the CDF II detector and corresponds to 6.9 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. We obtain an integrated asymmetry of $A_{FB}(b\bar{b})=(1.2 \pm 0.7)$\% at the particle level for $b$-quark pairs with invariant mass, $m_{b\bar{b}}$, down to $40$ GeV/$c^2$ and measure the dependence of $A_{FB}(b\bar{b})$ on $m_{b\bar{b}}$. The results are compatible with expectations from the standard model.
We present a measurement of the $W$-boson-pair production cross section in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at 1.96 TeV center-of-mass energy and the first measurement of the differential cross section as a function of jet multiplicity and leading-jet energy. The $W^{+}W^{-}$ cross section is measured in the final state comprising two charged leptons and neutrinos, where either charged lepton can be an electron or a muon. Using data collected by the CDF experiment corresponding to $9.7~\rm{fb}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, a total of $3027$ collision events consistent with $W^{+}W^{-}$ production are observed with an estimated background contribution of $1790\pm190$ events. The measured total cross section is $\sigma(p\bar{p} \rightarrow W^{+}W^{-}) = 14.0 \pm 0.6~(\rm{stat})^{+1.2}_{-1.0}~(\rm{syst})\pm0.8~(\rm{lumi})$ pb, consistent with the standard model prediction.
Drell-Yan lepton pairs are produced in the process $p\bar{p} \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^- + X$ through an intermediate $\gamma^*/Z$ boson. The forward-backward asymmetry in the polar-angle distribution of the $\mu^-$ as a function of the invariant mass of the $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair is used to obtain the effective leptonic determination $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ of the electroweak-mixing parameter $\sin^2 \theta_W$, from which the value of $\sin^2 \theta_W$ is derived assuming the standard model. The measurement sample, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), corresponds to 9.2 fb-1 of integrated luminosity from $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV, and is the full CDF Run II data set. The value of $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ is found to be 0.2315 +- 0.0010, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are combined in quadrature. When interpreted within the context of the standard model using the on-shell renormalization scheme, where $\sin^2 \theta_W = 1 - M_W^2/M_Z^2$, the measurement yields $\sin^2 \theta_W$ = 0.2233 +- 0.0009, or equivalently a W-boson mass of 80.365 +- 0.047 GeV/c^2. The value of the W-boson mass is in agreement with previous determinations in electron-positron collisions and at the Tevatron collider.
At the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton ($p\bar{p}$) collider, Drell-Yan lepton pairs are produced in the process $p \bar{p} \rightarrow e^+e^- + X$ through an intermediate $\gamma^*/Z$ boson. The forward-backward asymmetry in the polar-angle distribution of the $e^-$ as a function of the $e^+e^-$-pair mass is used to obtain $\sin^2\theta^{\rm lept}_{\rm eff}$, the effective leptonic determination of the electroweak-mixing parameter $\sin^2\theta_W$. The measurement sample, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), corresponds to 9.4~fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity from $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV, and is the full CDF Run II data set. The value of $\sin^2\theta^{\rm lept}_{\rm eff}$ is found to be $0.23248 \pm 0.00053$. The combination with the previous CDF measurement based on $\mu^+\mu^-$ pairs yields $\sin^2\theta^{\rm lept}_{\rm eff} = 0.23221 \pm 0.00046$. This result, when interpreted within the specified context of the standard model assuming $\sin^2 \theta_W = 1 - M_W^2/M_Z^2$ and that the $W$- and $Z$-boson masses are on-shell, yields $\sin^2\theta_W = 0.22400 \pm 0.00045$, or equivalently a $W$-boson mass of $80.328 \pm 0.024 \;{\rm GeV}/c^2$.
The production of the $\psi(2S)$ charmonium state was measured with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV, in the dimuon decay channel. A significant signal was observed for the first time at LHC energies down to zero transverse momentum, at forward rapidity ($2.5<y<4$). The measurement of the ratio of the inclusive production cross sections of the $\psi(2S)$ and J/$\psi$ resonances is reported as a function of the centrality of the collisions and of transverse momentum, in the region $p_{\rm T}<12$ GeV/$c$. The results are compared with the corresponding measurements in pp collisions, by forming the double ratio $[\sigma^{\psi(2S)}/\sigma^{J/\psi}]_{\rm{Pb-Pb}}/[\sigma^{\psi(2S)}/\sigma^{J/\psi}]_{\rm{pp}}$. It is found that in Pb-Pb collisions the $\psi(2S)$ is suppressed by a factor of $\sim 2$ with respect to the J/$\psi$. The $\psi(2S)$ nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ was also obtained as a function of both centrality and $p_{\rm T}$. The results show that the $\psi(2S)$ resonance yield is strongly suppressed in Pb-Pb collisions, by a factor up to $\sim 3$ with respect to pp. Comparisons of cross section ratios with previous SPS findings by the NA50 experiment and of $R_{\rm AA}$ with higher-$p_{\rm T}$ results at LHC energy are also reported. These results and the corresponding comparisons with calculations of transport and statistical models address questions on the presence and properties of charmonium states in the quark-gluon plasma formed in nuclear collisions at the LHC.
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.
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.
The polarization of inclusive J/$\psi$ and $\Upsilon(1{\rm S})$ produced in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV at the LHC is measured with the ALICE detector. The study is carried out by reconstructing the quarkonium through its decay to muon pairs in the rapidity region $2.5<y<4$ and measuring the polar and azimuthal angular distributions of the muons. The polarization parameters $\lambda_{\theta}$, $\lambda_{\phi}$ and $\lambda_{\theta\phi}$ are measured in the helicity and Collins-Soper reference frames, in the transverse momentum interval $2<p_{\rm T}<10$ GeV/$c$ and $p_{\rm T}<15$ GeV/$c$ for the J/$\psi$ and $\Upsilon(1{\rm S})$, respectively. The polarization parameters for the J/$\psi$ are found to be compatible with zero, within a maximum of about two standard deviations at low $p_{\rm T}$, for both reference frames and over the whole $p_{\rm T}$ range. The values are compared with the corresponding results obtained for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV in a similar kinematic region by the ALICE and LHCb experiments. Although with much larger uncertainties, the polarization parameters for $\Upsilon(1{\rm S})$ production in Pb-Pb collisions are also consistent with zero.
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).