We present the first wide-range measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density distribution, for different centralities (the 0-5%, 5-10%, 10-20%, and 20-30% most central events) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed using the full coverage of the ALICE detectors, $-5.0 < \eta < 5.5$, and employing a special analysis technique based on collisions arising from LHC "satellite" bunches. We present the pseudorapidity density as a function of the number of participating nucleons as well as an extrapolation to the total number of produced charged particles ($N_{\rm ch} = 17165 \pm 772$ for the 0-5% most central collisions). From the measured ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}\eta$ distribution we derive the rapidity density distribution, ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}y$, under simple assumptions. The rapidity density distribution is found to be significantly wider than the predictions of the Landau model. We assess the validity of longitudinal scaling by comparing to lower energy results from RHIC. Finally the mechanisms of the underlying particle production are discussed based on a comparison with various theoretical models.
The neutral π0 and η mesons are studied in 197Au−197Au collisions at an incident energy of 800AMeV, substantially below the threshold for η production in N−N collisions. While the gross π0 multiplicity increases almost linearly with the number of participant nucleons, the multiplicities of η and hard π0 mesons show a stronger than linear dependence. The nonlinearity is governed by the average transverse-mass excess 〈mt〉−(s−2mN) of the mesons and is insensitive to their final-state interaction in the nuclear medium.
The production of two high-p_T jets in the interactions of quasi-real photons in e+e- collisions at sqrt{s_ee} from 189 GeV to 209 GeV is studied with data corresponding to an integrated e+e- luminosity of 550 pb^{-1}. The jets reconstructed by the k_T cluster algorithm are defined within the pseudo-rapidity range -1 < eta < 1 and with jet transverse momentum, p_T, above 3 GeV/c. The differential di-jet cross-section is measured as a function of the mean transverse momentum ptmean of the jets and is compared to perturbative QCD calculations.
Charged- and neutral-particle production from 400-GeV/c pp collisions are measured simultaneously using the Fermilab 15-ft bubble chamber. The π0 and K0 cross sections are rising at Fermilab energies, while the Λ0 cross section remains fairly constant. Similarly, the average number of π0's and K0's increases as a function of the number of negative particles in an event, yet no such dependence is noted for the Λ0's. The ratio of average number of π0 to average number of π− per inelastic collisions is found to be constant at Serpukhov and Fermilab energies (40 to 400 GeV/c) and equal to 1.22±0.02. Cross sections for Σ0 and Σ¯0 production are measured and limits are found for η0 and ω0 production. Neutral- and charged-pion correlations are compared with five pion-production models.
Measurements of charged pion and kaon production in central Pb+Pb collisions at 40, 80 and 158 AGeV are presented. These are compared with data at lower and higher energies as well as with results from p+p interactions. The mean pion multiplicity per wounded nucleon increases approximately linearly with s_NN^1/4 with a change of slope starting in the region 15-40 AGeV. The change from pion suppression with respect to p+p interactions, as observed at low collision energies, to pion enhancement at high energies occurs at about 40 AGeV. A non-monotonic energy dependence of the ratio of K^+ to pi^+ yields is observed, with a maximum close to 40 AGeV and an indication of a nearly constant value at higher energies.The measured dependences may be related to an increase of the entropy production and a decrease of the strangeness to entropy ratio in central Pb+Pb collisions in the low SPS energy range, which is consistent with the hypothesis that a transient state of deconfined matter is created above these energies. Other interpretations of the data are also discussed.
The production of neutral pions has been studied in the reactions 40 Ar + nat Ca , 86 Kr + nat Zr and 197 Au + 197 Au at 1 A GeV. For high energy pions emitted from the heavier systems a steeper than linear rise of the pion multiplicity with the centrality of the reaction is observed, indicating a pion production process other than binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. At low transverse momenta an enhancement of the π 0 -multiplicity increasing with the mass of the collision system is found. Systematic discrepancies between the experimental results and recent BUU, QMD and Cascade calculations are discussed.
Neutral-pion production in pp interactions has been studied using 8000 photon conversions in the Fermilab 15-ft bubble chamber. Inclusive π0 multiplicity moments and ππ correlation integrals are presented; f200 is determined to be + 3.0±0.8. For the semi-inclusive π0 multiplicity distributions we find 〈n(π0)〉n− to increase with n−, while the dispersions are n− independent. Results on f2−0, f200, and f2,n−00 are compared to predictions of simple cluster models.
The problem of the nuclear matter jets in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 4.5 A GeV/c is discussed. The global analysis of experimental data, namely the sphericity tensor, is used to evidence such jets.
Production of Λ, Λ , and K s 0 has been measured for a wide range of event multiplicity in S+Pb reactions at 200 GeV/c per nucleon. The production of Λ is shown to increase with multiplicity faster than expected from a superposition of p+p collisions. The effect is seen for low multiplicity (below 100 negative particles).
Inclusive K0K¯0, Λ0, and Λ¯0 cross sections have been determined using a 292-event/mb exposure of the hydrogen-filled 15-foot bubble chamber at Fermilab. From the invariant-mass distributions of V0π± pairs we find that σ(K*±(890))=4.4±1.4 mb, σ(Σ*±(1385))=0.54±0.40 mb, and σ(Σ¯*±(1385))=0.45±0.34 mb. It is estimated that 0.32 ± 0.11 of K0K¯0's, 0.21 ± 0.16 of Λ's, and 0.96 ± 0.75 of Λ¯'s originate from decays of K*(890) and Σ*(1385), respectively.
Forum