The inclusive production of the J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) charmonium states is studied as a function of centrality in p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 8.16$ TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the dimuon decay channel with the ALICE apparatus in the centre-of-mass rapidity intervals $-4.46 < y_{\rm cms} < -2.96$ (Pb-going direction) and $2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$ (p-going direction), down to zero transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$). The J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) production cross sections are evaluated as a function of the collision centrality, estimated through the energy deposited in the zero degree calorimeter located in the Pb-going direction. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential J/$\psi$ production cross section is measured at backward and forward rapidity for several centrality classes, together with the corresponding average $\langle p_{\rm T} \rangle$ and $\langle p^{2}_{\rm T} \rangle$ values. The nuclear effects affecting the production of both charmonium states are studied using the nuclear modification factor. In the p-going direction, a suppression of the production of both charmonium states is observed, which seems to increase from peripheral to central collisions. In the Pb-going direction, however, the centrality dependence is different for the two states: the nuclear modification factor of the J/$\psi$ increases from below unity in peripheral collisions to above unity in central collisions, while for the $\psi$(2S) it stays below or consistent with unity for all centralities with no significant centrality dependence. The results are compared with measurements in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV and no significant dependence on the energy of the collision is observed. Finally, the results are compared with theoretical models implementing various nuclear matter effects.

A detailed study of pseudorapidity densities and multiplicity distributions of primary charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions, at $\sqrt{s} =$ 0.9, 2.36, 2.76, 7 and 8 TeV, in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<2$, was carried out using the ALICE detector. Measurements were obtained for three event classes: inelastic, non-single diffractive and events with at least one charged particle in the pseudorapidity interval $|\eta|<1$. The use of an improved track-counting algorithm combined with ALICE's measurements of diffractive processes allows a higher precision compared to our previous publications. A KNO scaling study was performed in the pseudorapidity intervals $|\eta|<$ 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The data are compared to other experimental results and to models as implemented in Monte Carlo event generators PHOJET and recent tunes of PYTHIA6, PYTHIA8 and EPOS.

We present the charged-particle multiplicity distributions over a wide pseudorapidity range ($-3.4<\eta<5.0$) for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 0.9, 7, and 8 TeV at the LHC. Results are based on information from the Silicon Pixel Detector and the Forward Multiplicity Detector of ALICE, extending the pseudorapidity coverage of the earlier publications and the high-multiplicity reach. The measurements are compared to results from the CMS experiment and to PYTHIA, PHOJET and EPOS LHC event generators, as well as IP-Glasma calculations.

A comparison of the differential cross sections for the processes Z/gamma* + jets and photon (gamma) + jets is presented. The measurements are based on data collected with the CMS detector at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The differential cross sections and their ratios are presented as functions of pt. The measurements are also shown as functions of the jet multiplicity. Differential cross sections are obtained as functions of the ratio of the Z/gamma* pt to the sum of all jet transverse momenta and of the ratio of the Z/gamma* pt to the leading jet transverse momentum. The data are corrected for detector effects and are compared to simulations based on several QCD calculations.

Charge-dependent azimuthal correlations of same- and opposite-sign pairs with respect to the second- and third-order event planes have been measured in pPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 8.16 TeV and PbPb collisions at 5.02 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurement is motivated by the search for the charge separation phenomenon predicted by the chiral magnetic effect (CME) in heavy ion collisions. Three- and two-particle azimuthal correlators are extracted as functions of the pseudorapidity difference, the transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{t}$) difference, and the $p_\mathrm{t}$ average of same- and opposite-charge pairs in various event multiplicity ranges. The data suggest that the charge-dependent three-particle correlators with respect to the second- and third-order event planes share a common origin, predominantly arising from charge-dependent two-particle azimuthal correlations coupled with an anisotropic flow. The CME is expected to lead to a $v_2$-independent three-particle correlation when the magnetic field is fixed. Using an event shape engineering technique, upper limits on the $v_2$-independent fraction of the three-particle correlator are estimated to be 13% for pPb and 7% for PbPb collisions at 95% confidence level. The results of this analysis, both the dominance of two-particle correlations as a source of the three-particle results and the similarities seen between PbPb and pPb, provide stringent constraints on the origin of charge-dependent three-particle azimuthal correlations and challenge their interpretation as arising from a chiral magnetic effect in heavy ion collisions.

A first search for same-sign WW production via double-parton scattering is performed based on proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV using dimuon and electron-muon final states. The search is based on the analysis of data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected single-parton scattering yields. A 95% confidence level upper limit of 0.32 pb is set on the inclusive cross section for same-sign WW production via the double-parton scattering process. This upper limit is used to place a 95% confidence level lower limit of 12.2 mb on the effective double-parton cross section parameter, closely related to the transverse distribution of partons in the proton. This limit on the effective cross section is consistent with previous measurements as well as with Monte Carlo event generator predictions.

Measurements of inclusive and direct photon production at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$ and 8 TeV are presented by the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are reported in transverse momentum ranges of $0.4<p_{T}<10$ GeV/$c$ and $0.3<p_{T}<16$ GeV/$c$, respectively. Photons are detected with the electromagnetic calorimeter~(EMCal) and via reconstruction of e$^+$e$^-$ pairs from conversions in the ALICE detector material using the central tracking system. For the final measurement of the inclusive photon spectra the results are combined in the overlapping $p_{T}$ interval of both methods. Direct photon spectra, or their upper limits at 90% C.L. are extracted using the direct photon excess ratio $R_{\gamma}$, which quantifies the ratio of inclusive photons over decay photons generated with a decay-photon simulation. An additional hybrid method, combining photons reconstructed from conversions with those identified in the EMCal, is used for the combination of the direct photon excess ratio $R_{\gamma}$, as well as the extraction of direct photon spectra or their upper limits. While no significant signal of direct photons is seen over the full $p_{T}$ range, $R_{\gamma}$ for $p_{T}>7$ GeV/$c$ is at least one $\sigma$ above unity and consistent with expectations from next-to-leading order pQCD calculations.

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.

The elliptic azimuthal anisotropy coefficient ($v_2$) is measured for charm (D$^0$) and strange (K$_\mathrm{S}^0$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^-$, and $\Omega^-$) hadrons, using a data sample of pPb collisions collected by the CMS experiment, at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 8.16 TeV. A significant positive $v_2$ signal from long-range azimuthal correlations is observed for all particle species in high-multiplicity pPb collisions. The measurement represents the first observation of possible long-range collectivity for open heavy flavor hadrons in small systems. The results suggest that charm quarks have a smaller $v_2$ than the lighter quarks, probably reflecting a weaker collective behavior. This effect is not seen in the larger PbPb collision system at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 5.02 TeV, also presented.

The production of $\phi$ mesons has been studied in pp collisions at LHC energies with the ALICE detector via the dimuon decay channel in the rapidity region $2.5 < y < 4$. Measurements of the differential cross section ${\rm d}^2\sigma/{\rm d}y {\rm d}p_{\rm T}$ are presented as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) at the center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s}=5.02$, 8 and 13 TeV and compared with the ALICE results at midrapidity. The differential cross sections at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ and 13 TeV are also studied in several rapidity intervals as a function of $p_{\rm T}$, and as a function of rapidity in three $p_{\rm T}$ intervals. A hardening of the $p_{\rm T}$-differential cross section with the collision energy is observed, while, for a given energy, $p_{\rm T}$ spectra soften with increasing rapidity and, conversely, rapidity distributions get slightly narrower at increasing $p_{\rm T}$. The new results, complementing the published measurements at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$ and 7 TeV, allow one to establish the energy dependence of $\phi$ meson production and to compare the measured cross sections with phenomenological models. None of the considered models manages to describe the evolution of the cross section with $p_{\rm T}$ and rapidity at all the energies.