The differential cross sections of $\Lambda_\mathrm{c}^+$ baryon production are measured via the exclusive decay channel $\Lambda_\mathrm{c}^+ \to $pK$^-\pi^+$, as a function of transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) in proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement is performed within the $\Lambda_\mathrm{c}^+$ rapidity interval $|y|<$1.0 in the $p_\mathrm{T}$ range of 5-20 GeV/$c$ in pp and 10-20 GeV/$c$ in PbPb collisions. The observed yields of $\Lambda_\mathrm{c}^+$ for $p_\mathrm{T}$ of 10-20 GeV/$c$ suggest a possible suppression in central PbPb collisions compared to pp collisions. The $\Lambda_\mathrm{c}^+/$D$^0$ production ratio in pp collisions is compared to theoretical models. In PbPb collisions, this ratio is consistent with the result from pp collisions in their common $p_\mathrm{T}$ range.
The first evidence for X(3872) production in relativistic heavy ion collisions is reported. The X(3872) production is studied in lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair, using the decay chain X(3872) $\to$ J$/\psi\, \pi^+\pi^- \to$ $\mu^+\mu^-\pi^+\pi^-$. The data were recorded with the CMS detector in 2018 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb$^{-1}$. The measurement is performed in the rapidity and transverse momentum ranges $|y|$ $\lt$ 1.6 and 15 $\lt$ $p_\mathrm{T}$ $\lt$ 50 GeV$/c$. The significance of the inclusive X(3872) signal is 4.2 standard deviations. The prompt X(3872) to $\psi$(2S) yield ratio is found to be $\rho^\mathrm{PbPb} = $ 1.08 $\pm$ 0.49 (stat) $\pm$ 0.52 (syst), to be compared with typical values of 0.1 for pp collisions. This result provides a unique experimental input to theoretical models of the X(3872) production mechanism, and of the nature of this exotic state.
The first measurements of the invariant differential cross sections of inclusive $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ meson production at mid-rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV are reported. The $\pi^0$ measurement covers the ranges $0.4<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ and $0.3<p_T<25$ GeV/$c$ for these two energies, respectively. The production of $\eta$ mesons was measured at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV in the range $0.4<p_T<15$ GeV/$c$. Next-to-Leading Order perturbative QCD calculations, which are consistent with the $\pi^0$ spectrum at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV, overestimate those of $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV, but agree with the measured $\eta/\pi^0$ ratio at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV.
The first measurement of neutron emission in electromagnetic dissociation of $^{208}$Pb nuclei at the LHC is presented. The measurement is performed using the neutron Zero Degree Calorimeters of the ALICE experiment, which detect neutral particles close to beam rapidity. The measured cross sections of single and mutual electromagnetic dissociation of Pb nuclei at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV with neutron emission are $\sigma_{\rm single\ EMD} = 187.4\pm0.2$ (stat.) $^{+13.2} _{-11.2}$ (syst.) b and $\sigma_{\rm mutual\ EMD} = 5.7\pm0.1$ (stat.) $\pm$0.4 (syst.) b, respectively. The experimental results are compared to the predictions from a relativistic electromagnetic dissociation model.
The transverse momentum balance of pairs of back-to-back b quark jets in PbPb and pp collisions recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC is reported. The center-of-mass energy in both collision systems is 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair. Compared to the pp collision baseline, b quark jets have a larger imbalance in the most central PbPb collisions, as expected from the jet quenching effect. The data are also compared to the corresponding measurement with inclusive dijets. In the most central collisions, the imbalance of b quark dijets is comparable to that of inclusive dijets.
A measurement of the elliptic flow ($v_2$) of prompt J/$\psi$ mesons in high-multiplicity pPb collisions is reported using data collected by the CMS experiment at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 8.16 TeV. Prompt J/$\psi$ mesons decaying into two muons are reconstructed in the rapidity region in the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass frame ($y_\mathrm{cm}$), corresponding to either $-$2.86 $\lt y_{\mathrm{cm}} <$ $-$1.86 or 0.94 $\lt y_{\mathrm{cm}} <$ 1.94. The average $v_2$ result from the two rapidity ranges is reported over the transverse momentum (p$_\mathrm{T}$) range from 0.2 to 10 GeV. Positive $v_2$ values are observed for the prompt J/$\psi$ meson, as extracted from long-range two-particle correlations with charged hadrons, for 2 $\lt p_{\mathrm{T}}<$ 8 GeV. The prompt J/$\psi$ results are compared with previous CMS measurements of elliptic flow for open charm mesons (D$^0$) and strange hadrons. From these measurements, constraints can be obtained on the collective dynamics of charm quarks produced in high-multiplicity events arising from small systems.
The first measurement of the dependence of $\gamma\gamma$$\to$$\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ production on the multiplicity of neutrons emitted very close to the beam direction in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions is reported. Data for lead-lead interactions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV, with an integrated luminosity of approximately 1.5 nb$^{-1}$, were collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The azimuthal correlations between the two muons in the invariant mass region 8 $\lt$$m_{\mu\mu}$$\lt$ 60 GeV are extracted for events including 0, 1, or at least 2 neutrons detected in the forward pseudorapidity range $|\eta|$$\gt$ 8.3. The back-to-back correlation structure from leading-order photon-photon scattering is found to be significantly broader for events with a larger number of emitted neutrons from each nucleus, corresponding to interactions with a smaller impact parameter. This observation provides a data-driven demonstration that the average transverse momentum of photons emitted from relativistic heavy ions has an impact parameter dependence. These results provide new constraints on models of photon-induced interactions in ultraperipheral collisions. They also provide a baseline to search for possible final-state effects on lepton pairs caused by traversing a quark-gluon plasma produced in hadronic heavy ion collisions.
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.
Despite the f$_0$(980) hadron having been discovered half a century ago, the question about its quark content has not been settled: it might be an ordinary quark-antiquark ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}}$) meson, a tetraquark ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}q\bar{q}}$) exotic state, a kaon-antikaon ($\mathrm{K\bar{K}}$) molecule, or a quark-antiquark-gluon ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}g}$) hybrid. This paper reports strong evidence that the f$_0$(980) state is an ordinary $\mathrm{q\bar{q}}$ meson, inferred from the scaling of elliptic anisotropies ($v_2$) with the number of constituent quarks ($n_\mathrm{q}$), as empirically established using conventional hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The f$_0$(980) state is reconstructed via its dominant decay channel f$_0$(980) $\to$$\pi^+\pi^-$, in proton-lead collisions recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, and its $v_2$ is measured as a function of transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$). It is found that the $n_q$ = 2 ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}}$ state) hypothesis is favored over $n_q$ = 4 ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}q\bar{q}}$ or $\mathrm{K\bar{K}}$ states) by 7.7, 6.3, or 3.1 standard deviations in the $p_\mathrm{T}$$\lt$ 10, 8, or 6 GeV/$c$ ranges, respectively, and over $n_\mathrm{q}$ = 3 ($\mathrm{q\bar{q}g}$ hybrid state) by 3.5 standard deviations in the $p_\mathrm{T}$$\lt$ 8 GeV/$c$ range. This result represents the first determination of the quark content of the f$_0$(980) state, made possible by using a novel approach, and paves the way for similar studies of other exotic hadron candidates.
We report on measurements of sequential $\Upsilon$ suppression in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors ($R_{\mathrm{AA}}$), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to $p$+$p$ collisions, for $\Upsilon$(1S) and $\Upsilon$(2S) are $0.40 \pm 0.03~\textrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.03~\textrm{(sys.)} \pm 0.09~\textrm{(norm.)}$ and $0.26 \pm 0.08~\textrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.02~\textrm{(sys.)} \pm 0.06~\textrm{(norm.)}$, respectively, while the upper limit of the $\Upsilon$(3S) $R_{\mathrm{AA}}$ is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the $\Upsilon$(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the $\Upsilon$(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for $\Upsilon$(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited $\Upsilon$ states.
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