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$-\Omega$.

Two-particle transverse momentum differential correlators, recently measured in Pb--Pb collisions at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), provide an additional tool to gain insights into particle production mechanisms and infer transport properties, such as the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, of the medium created in Pb-Pb collisions. The longitudinal long-range correlations and the large azimuthal anisotropy measured at low transverse momenta in small collision systems, namely pp and p-Pb, at LHC energies resemble manifestations of collective behaviour. This suggests that locally equilibrated matter may be produced in these small collision systems, similar to what is observed in Pb-Pb collisions. In this work, the same two-particle transverse momentum differential correlators are exploited in pp and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV and $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, respectively, to seek evidence for viscous effects. Specifically, the strength and shape of the correlators are studied as a function of the produced particle multiplicity to identify evidence for longitudinal broadening that might reveal the presence of viscous effects in these smaller systems. The measured correlators and their evolution from pp and p--Pb to Pb--Pb collisions are additionally compared to predictions from Monte Carlo event generators, and the potential presence of viscous effects is discussed.

In quantum scattering processes between two particles, aspects characterizing the strong and Coulomb forces can be observed in kinematic distributions of the particle pairs. The sensitivity to the interaction potential reaches a maximum at low relative momentum and vanishing distance between the two particles. Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at the LHC provide an abundant source of many hadron species and can be employed as a measurement method of scattering parameters that is complementary to scattering experiments. This study confirms that momentum correlations of particles produced in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC provide an accurate measurement of kaon-proton scattering parameters at low relative momentum, allowing precise access to the $ {K}^{-} p\rightarrow {K}^{-} p$ process. This work also validates the femtoscopic measurement in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions as an alternative to scattering experiments and a complementary tool to the study of exotic atoms with comparable precision. In this work, the first femtoscopic measurement of momentum correlations of ${K}^{-} p\ ({K}^{+}\overline{p})$ and ${K}^{+}p ({K}^{-}\overline{p})$ pairs in Pb-Pb collisions at centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV registered by the ALICE experiment is reported. The components of the ${K}^{-} p$ complex scattering length are extracted and found to be $\Re f_0=-0.91\pm~{0.03}$(stat)$^{+0.17}_{-0.03}$(syst) and $\Im f_0 = 0.92\pm~{0.05}$(stat)$^{+0.12}_{-0.33}$(syst). The results are compared with chiral effective field theory predictions as well as with existing data from dedicated scattering and exotic kaonic atom experiments.

Collective behavior has been observed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions for several decades. Collectivity is driven by the high particle multiplicities that are produced in these collisions. At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), features of collectivity have also been seen in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions that can attain particle multiplicities comparable to peripheral Pb-Pb collisions. One of the possible signatures of collective behavior is the decrease of femtoscopic radii extracted from pion and kaon pairs emitted from high-multiplicity collisions with increasing pair transverse momentum. This decrease can be described in terms of an approximate transverse mass scaling. In the present work, femtoscopic analyses are carried out by the ALICE collaboration on charged pion and kaon pairs produced in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV from the LHC to study possible collectivity in pp collisions. The event-shape analysis method based on transverse sphericity is used to select for spherical versus jet-like events, and the effects of this selection on the femtoscopic radii for both charged pion and kaon pairs are studied. This is the first time this selection method has been applied to charged kaon pairs. An approximate transverse-mass scaling of the radii is found in all multiplicity ranges studied when the difference in the Lorentz boost for pions and kaons is taken into account. This observation does not support the hypothesis of collective expansion of hot and dense matter that should only occur in high-multiplicity events. A possible alternate explanation of the present results is based on a scenario of common emission conditions for pions and kaons in pp collisions for the multiplicity ranges studied.

Angular correlations of heavy-flavour and charged particles in high-energy proton-proton collisions are sensitive to the production mechanisms of heavy quarks and to their fragmentation as well as hadronisation processes. The measurement of the azimuthal-correlation function of prompt D mesons with charged particles in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ALICE detector is reported, considering D$^{0}$, D$^{+}$, and D$^{*+}$ mesons in the transverse-momentum interval $3 < p_{\rm T} < 36$ GeV/$c$ at midrapidity ($|y| < 0.5$), and charged particles with $p_{\rm T} > 0.3$ GeV/$c$ and pseudorapidity $|\eta| < 0.8$. This measurement has an improved precision and provides an extended transverse-momentum coverage compared to previous ALICE measurements at lower energies. The study is also performed as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity, showing no modifications of the correlation function with multiplicity within uncertainties. The properties and the transverse-momentum evolution of the near- and away-side correlation peaks are studied and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. Among those considered, PYTHIA8 and POWHEG+PYTHIA8 provide the best description of the measured observables. The obtained results can provide guidance on tuning the generators.

First measurements of balance functions (BFs) of all combinations of identified charged hadron $(\pi,\rm K,\rm p)$ pairs in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV recorded by the ALICE detector are presented. The BF measurements are carried out as two-dimensional differential correlators versus the relative rapidity ($\Delta y$) and azimuthal angle ($\Delta\varphi$) of hadron pairs, and studied as a function of collision centrality. The $\Delta\varphi$ dependence of BFs is expected to be sensitive to the light quark diffusivity in the quark$-$gluon plasma. While the BF azimuthal widths of all pairs substantially decrease from peripheral to central collisions, the longitudinal widths exhibit mixed behaviors: BFs of $\pi\pi$ and cross-species pairs narrow significantly in more central collisions, whereas those of $\rm KK$ and $\rm pp$ are found to be independent of collision centrality. This dichotomy is qualitatively consistent with the presence of strong radial flow effects and the existence of two stages of quark production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Finally, the first measurements of the collision centrality evolution of BF integrals are presented, with the observation that charge balancing fractions are nearly independent of collision centrality in Pb$-$Pb collisions. Overall, the results presented provide new and challenging constraints for theoretical models of hadron production and transport in relativistic 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).

This Letter presents the first direct investigation of the p-$\Sigma^{0}$ interaction, using the femtoscopy technique in high-multiplicity pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV measured by the ALICE detector. The $\Sigma^{0}$ is reconstructed via the decay channel to $\Lambda \gamma$, and the subsequent decay of $\Lambda$ to p$\pi^-$. The photon is detected via the conversion in material to e$^{+}$e$^{-}$ pairs exploiting the unique capability of the ALICE detector to measure electrons at low transverse momenta. The measured p-$\Sigma^{0}$ correlation indicates a shallow strong interaction. The comparison of the data to several theoretical predictions obtained employing the $Correlation~Analysis~Tool~using~the~Schr\"odinger~Equation$ (CATS) and the Lednick\'y-Lyuboshits approach shows that the current experimental precision does not yet allow to discriminate between different models, as it is the case for the available scattering and hypernuclei data. Nevertheless, the p-$\Sigma^{0}$ correlation function is found to be sensitive to the strong interaction, and driven by the interplay of the different spin and isospin channels. This pioneering study demonstrates the feasibility of a femtoscopic measurement in the p-$\Sigma^{0}$ channel and with the expected larger data samples in LHC Run 3 and Run 4, the p-$\Sigma^{0}$ interaction will be constrained with high precision.

We present the results of three-dimensional femtoscopic analyses for charged and neutral kaons recorded by ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV. Femtoscopy is used to measure the space-time characteristics of particle production from the effects of quantum statistics and final-state interactions in two-particle correlations. Kaon femtoscopy is an important supplement to that of pions because it allows one to distinguish between different model scenarios working equally well for pions. In particular, we compare the measured 3D kaon radii with a purely hydrodynamical calculation and a model where the hydrodynamic phase is followed by a hadronic rescattering stage. The former predicts an approximate transverse mass ($m_{\mathrm{T}}$) scaling of source radii obtained from pion and kaon correlations. This $m_{\mathrm{T}}$ scaling appears to be broken in our data, which indicates the importance of the hadronic rescattering phase at LHC energies. A $k_{\mathrm{T}}$ scaling of pion and kaon source radii is observed instead. The time of maximal emission of the system is estimated using the three-dimensional femtoscopic analysis for kaons. The measured emission time is larger than that of pions. Our observation is well supported by the hydrokinetic model predictions.

The azimuthal correlations of D mesons and charged particles were measured with the ALICE detector in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ mesons and their charge conjugates with transverse momentum $3<p_{\rm T}<16$ GeV/$c$ and rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system $|y_{\rm cms}|<0.5$ (pp collisions) and $-0.96<y_{\rm cms}<0.04$ (p-Pb collisions) were correlated to charged particles with $p_{\rm T}>0.3$ Gev/$c$. The properties of the correlation peak induced by the jet containing the D meson, described in terms of the yield of charged particles in the peak and peak width, are compatible within uncertainties between the two collision systems, and described by Monte-Carlo simulations based on the PYTHIA, POWHEG and EPOS 3 event generators.