The first measurements of dielectron production at midrapidity ($|\eta_{c}|<0.8$) in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV at the LHC are presented. The dielectron cross section is measured with the ALICE detector as a function of the invariant mass $m_{\rm{ee}}$ and the pair transverse momentum $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ in the ranges $m_{\rm{ee}}$ < 3.5 GeV/$c^{2}$ and $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ < 8.0 GeV/$c^{2}$, in both collision systems. In proton-proton collisions, the charm and beauty cross sections are determined at midrapidity from a fit to the data with two different event generators. This complements the existing dielectron measurements performed at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 and 13 TeV. The slope of the $\sqrt{s}$ dependence of the three measurements is described by FONLL calculations. The dielectron cross section measured in proton-lead collisions is in agreement, within the current precision, with the expected dielectron production without any nuclear matter effects for $\rm{e}^{+}\rm{e}^{-}$ pairs from open heavy-flavor hadron decays. For the first time at LHC energies, the dielectron production in proton-lead and proton-proton collisions are directly compared at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ via the dielectron nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{pPb}}$. The measurements are compared to model calculations including cold nuclear matter effects, or additional sources of dielectrons from thermal radiation.
This study presents the first measurement of the f$_{1}$(1285) resonance using the ALICE detector in inelastic proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The resonance is reconstructed at midrapidity ($|y| <$ 0.5) through the hadronic decay channel f$_{1} (1285) \rightarrow \mathrm{K^{0}_{S} K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}}$. Key measurements include the determination of its mass, transverse-momentum integrated yield, and average transverse momentum. Additionally, the ratio of the transverse-momentum integrated yield of f$_{1}$(1285) to pion is compared with calculations from the canonical statistical hadronization model. The model calculation, assuming a zero total strangeness content for f$_{1}$(1285), reproduces the data within 1$\sigma$ deviation, shedding light on the quark composition of f$_{1}$(1285).
The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a phenomenon that arises from the QCD anomaly in the presence of an external magnetic field. The experimental search for its evidence has been one of the key goals of the physics program of the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. The STAR collaboration has previously presented the results of a blind analysis of isobar collisions (${^{96}_{44}\text{Ru}}+{^{96}_{44}\text{Ru}}$, ${^{96}_{40}\text{Zr}}+{^{96}_{40}\text{Zr}}$) in the search for the CME. The isobar ratio ($Y$) of CME-sensitive observable, charge separation scaled by elliptic anisotropy, is close to but systematically larger than the inverse multiplicity ratio, the naive background baseline. This indicates the potential existence of a CME signal and the presence of remaining nonflow background due to two- and three-particle correlations, which are different between the isobars. In this post-blind analysis, we estimate the contributions from those nonflow correlations as a background baseline to $Y$, utilizing the isobar data as well as Heavy Ion Jet Interaction Generator simulations. This baseline is found consistent with the isobar ratio measurement, and an upper limit of 10% at 95% confidence level is extracted for the CME fraction in the charge separation measurement in isobar collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=200$ GeV.
We present high-statistic data on charged pion emission from Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 2.4 GeV (corresponding to $E_{beam}$ = 1.23 A GeV) in four centrality classes in the range 0 - 40$\%$ of the most central collisions. The data are analyzed as a function of transverse momentum, transverse mass, rapidity, and polar angle. Pion multiplicity per participating nucleon decreases moderately with increasing centrality. The polar angular distributions are found to be non-isotropic even for the most central event class. Our results on pion multiplicity fit well into the general trend of the world data, but undershoot by $2.5 \sigma$ data from the FOPI experiment measured at slightly lower beam energy. We compare our data to state-of-the-art transport model calculations (PHSD, IQMD, PHQMD, GiBUU and SMASH) and find substantial differences between the measurement and the results of these calculations.
Short-range correlations between charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at ${\sqrt{{\textit s}}}=13$~TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of the relative azimuthal angle $\Delta\varphi$ and the pseudorapidity separation $\Delta\eta$ for pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval $|\eta| < 0.9$ and the transverse-momentum range $1 < p_{\rm T} < 8$ GeV/$c$. Near-side ($|\Delta\varphi|<1.3$) peak widths are extracted from a generalised Gaussian fitted over the correlations in full pseudorapidity separation ($|\Delta\eta|<1.8$), while the per-trigger associated near-side yields are extracted for the short-range correlations ($|\Delta\eta|<1.3$). Both are evaluated as a function of charged-particle multiplicity obtained by two different event activity estimators. The width of the near-side peak decreases with increasing multiplicity, and this trend is reproduced qualitatively by the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA 8, AMPT, and EPOS. However, the models overestimate the width in the low transverse-momentum region ($p_{\rm T} < 3$ GeV/$c$). The per-trigger associated near-side yield increases with increasing multiplicity. Although this trend is also captured qualitatively by the considered event generators, the yield is mostly overestimated by the models in the considered kinematic range. The measurement of the shape and yield of the short-range correlation peak can help us understand the interplay between jet fragmentation and event activity, quantify the narrowing trend of the near-side peak as a function of transverse momentum and multiplicity selections in pp collisions, and search for final-state jet modification in small collision systems.
The production of K$^*$(892)$^\pm$ meson resonance is measured at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The resonance is reconstructed via its hadronic decay channel K$^*$(892)$^\pm \rightarrow \rm{K^0_S \pi^\pm}$. The transverse momentum distributions are obtained for various centrality intervals in the $p_{\rm T}$ range of 0.4-16 GeV/$c$. The reported measurements of integrated yields, mean transverse momenta, and particle yield ratios are consistent with previous ALICE measurements for K$^*$(892)$^0$. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated yield ratio 2K$^*$(892)$^\pm$/($\rm{K^+ + K^-}$) in central Pb-Pb collisions shows a significant suppression (9.3$\sigma$) relative to pp collisions. Thermal model calculations overpredict the particle yield ratio. Although both simulations consider the hadronic phase, only HRG-PCE accurately represents the measurements, whereas MUSIC+SMASH tends to overpredict them. These observations, along with the kinetic freeze-out temperatures extracted from the yields of light-flavored hadrons using the HRG-PCE model, indicate a finite hadronic phase lifetime, which increases towards central collisions. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential yield ratios 2K$^*$(892)$^\pm$/($\rm{K^+ + K^-}$) and 2K$^*$(892)$^\pm$/($\rm{\pi^+ + \pi^-}$) are suppressed by up to a factor of five at $p_{\rm T}<2$ GeV/$c$ in central Pb-Pb collisions compared to pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 5.02 TeV. Both particle ratios and are qualitatively consistent with expectations for rescattering effects in the hadronic phase. The nuclear modification factor shows a smooth evolution with centrality and is below unity at $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$, consistent with measurements for other light-flavored hadrons. The smallest values are observed in most central collisions, indicating larger energy loss of partons traversing the dense medium.
The inclusive WZ production cross section is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13.6 TeV, using data collected during 2022 with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34.7 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement uses multileptonic final states and a simultaneous likelihood fit to the number of events in four different lepton flavour categories: eee, ee$\mu$, $\mu\mu $e, and $\mu\mu\mu$. The selection is optimized to minimize the number of background events, and relies on an efficient prompt lepton discrimination strategy. The WZ production cross section is measured in a phase space defined within a 30 GeV window around the Z boson mass, as $\sigma_{\text{total}}$(pp $\to$ WZ) = 55.2 $\pm$ 1.2 (stat) $\pm$ 1.2 (syst) $\pm$ 0.8 (lumi) $\pm$ 0.3 (theo) pb. In addition, the cross section is measured in a fiducial phase space closer to the detector-level requirements. All the measurements presented in this paper are in agreement with standard model predictions.
The first measurements of proton emission accompanied by neutron emission in the electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of $^{208}$Pb nuclei in the ALICE experiment at the LHC are presented. The EMD protons and neutrons emitted at very forward rapidities are detected by the proton and neutron Zero Degree Calorimeters of the ALICE experiment. The emission cross sections of zero, one, two, and three protons accompanied by at least one neutron were measured in ultraperipheral $^{208}$Pb--$^{208}$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The 0p and 3p cross sections are described by the RELDIS model within their measurement uncertainties, while the 1p and 2p cross sections are underestimated by the model by 17-25%. According to this model, these 0p, 1p, 2p, and 3p cross sections are associated, respectively, with the production of various isotopes of Pb, Tl, Hg, and Au in the EMD of $^{208}$Pb. The cross sections of the emission of a single proton accompanied by the emission of one, two, or three neutrons in EMD were also measured. The data are significantly overestimated by the RELDIS model, which predicts that the (1p,1n), (1p,2n), and (1p,3n) cross sections are very similar to the cross sections for the production of the thallium isotopes $^{206,205,204}$Tl.
The polarization of the $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$ hyperons along the beam direction has been measured in proton-lead (pPb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 8.16 TeV. The data were obtained with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 186.0 $\pm$ 6.5 nb$^{-1}$. A significant azimuthal dependence of the hyperon polarization, characterized by the second-order Fourier sine coefficient $P_{z,s2}$, is observed. The $P_{z,s2}$ values decrease as a function of charged particle multiplicity, but increase with transverse momentum. A hydrodynamic model that describes the observed $P_{z,s2}$ values in nucleus-nucleus collisions by introducing vorticity effects does not reproduce either the sign or the magnitude of the pPb results. These observations pose a challenge to the current theoretical implementation of spin polarization in heavy ion collisions and offer new insights into the origin of spin polarization in hadronic collisions at LHC energies.
The first measurements of dielectron production at midrapidity ($|\eta_{c}|<0.8$) in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV at the LHC are presented. The dielectron cross section is measured with the ALICE detector as a function of the invariant mass $m_{\rm{ee}}$ and the pair transverse momentum $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ in the ranges $m_{\rm{ee}}$ < 3.5 GeV/$c^{2}$ and $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ < 8.0 GeV/$c^{2}$, in both collision systems. In proton-proton collisions, the charm and beauty cross sections are determined at midrapidity from a fit to the data with two different event generators. This complements the existing dielectron measurements performed at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 and 13 TeV. The slope of the $\sqrt{s}$ dependence of the three measurements is described by FONLL calculations. The dielectron cross section measured in proton-lead collisions is in agreement, within the current precision, with the expected dielectron production without any nuclear matter effects for $\rm{e}^{+}\rm{e}^{-}$ pairs from open heavy-flavor hadron decays. For the first time at LHC energies, the dielectron production in proton-lead and proton-proton collisions are directly compared at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ via the dielectron nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{pPb}}$. The measurements are compared to model calculations including cold nuclear matter effects, or additional sources of dielectrons from thermal radiation.
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