An invariant differential cross section measurement of inclusive $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ meson production at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV was carried out by the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The spectra of $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ mesons were measured in transverse momentum ranges of $0.3<p_{\rm T}<35$ GeV/$c$ and $0.5<p_{\rm T}<35$ GeV/$c$, respectively. Next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations using fragmentation functions DSS14 for the $\pi^{0}$ and AESSS for the $\eta$ overestimate the cross sections of both neutral mesons, although such calculations agree with the measured $\eta/\pi^{0}$ ratio within uncertainties. The results were also compared with PYTHIA~8.2 predictions for which the Monash~2013 tune yields the best agreement with the measured neutral meson spectra. The measurements confirm a universal behavior of the $\eta/\pi^{0}$ ratio seen for NA27, PHENIX and ALICE data for pp collisions from $\sqrt{s}=27.5$ GeV to $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV within experimental uncertainties. A relation between the $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ production cross sections for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV is given by $m_{\rm T}$ scaling for $p_{\rm T}>3.5$ GeV/$c$. However, a deviation from this empirical scaling rule is observed for transverse momenta below $p_{\rm T}<3.5$ GeV/$c$ in the $\eta/\pi^0$ ratio with a significance of $6.2\sigma$.

The first measurements of anisotropic flow coefficients $v_{\rm{n}}$ for mid-rapidity charged particles in Xe-Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 5.44$ TeV are presented. Comparing these measurements to those from Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 5.02$ TeV, $v_{2}$ is found to be suppressed for mid-central collisions at the same centrality, and enhanced for central collisions. The values of $v_{3}$ are generally larger in Xe-Xe than in Pb-Pb at a given centrality. These observations are consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic predictions. When both $v_{2}$ and $v_{3}$ are divided by their corresponding eccentricities for a variety of initial state models, they generally scale with transverse density when comparing Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb, with some deviations observed in central Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions. These results assist in placing strong constraints on both the initial state geometry and medium response for relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

Measurements of elliptic ($v_2$) and triangular ($v_3$) flow coefficients of $\pi^{\pm}$, K$^{\pm}$, p+$\rm \overline{p}$, K$^0_{\rm S}$, and $\Lambda + \overline{\Lambda}$ obtained with the scalar product method in Xe-Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV are presented. The results are obtained in the rapidity range $\left | y \right |<0.5$ and reported as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, for several collision centrality classes. The flow coefficients exhibit a particle mass dependence for $p_{\rm T}<3$ GeV/$c$, while a grouping according to particle type (i.e., meson and baryon) is found at intermediate transverse momenta (3< $p_{\rm T}$ <8 GeV/$c$). The magnitude of the baryon $v_{2}$ is larger than that of mesons up to $p_{\rm T}$ = 6 GeV/$c$. The centrality dependence of the shape evolution of the $p_{\rm T}$-differential $v_2$ is studied for the various hadron species. The $v_2$ coefficients of $\pi^{\pm}$, K$^{\pm}$, and p+$\rm \overline{p}$ are reproduced by MUSIC hydrodynamic calculations coupled to a hadronic cascade model (UrQMD) for $p_{\rm T} <1$ GeV/$c$. A comparison with $v_{\rm n}$ measurements in the corresponding centrality intervals in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV yields an enhanced $v_2$ in central collisions and diminished value in semicentral collisions.

In this Letter, the ALICE Collaboration presents the first measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity density, $\rm{d}N_{\rm{ch}}/\rm{d}\eta$, and total charged-particle multiplicity, $N_{\rm{ch}}^{\rm{tot}}$, in Xe-Xe collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon--nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of collision centrality over a wide pseudorapidity range of $-3.5 < \eta < 5$. The values of $\rm{d}N_{\rm{ch}}/\rm{d}\eta$ at mid-rapidity and $N_{\rm{ch}}^{\rm{tot}}$ for central collisions, normalised to the number of nucleons participating in the collision ($N_{\rm{part}}$) as a function of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$, follow the trends established in previous heavy-ion measurements. The same quantities are also found to increase as a function of $N_{\rm{part}}$, and up to the 10% most central collisions the trends are the same as the ones observed in Pb-Pb at a similar energy. For more central collisions, the Xe-Xe scaled multiplicities exceed those in Pb-Pb for a similar $N_{\rm{part}}$. The results are compared to phenomenological models and theoretical calculations based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions. All considered models describe the data reasonably well within 20%.

Correlations between mean transverse momentum $[p_{\rm T}]$ and anisotropic flow coefficients $v_{\rm 2}$ or $v_{\rm 3}$ are measured as a function of centrality in Pb$-$Pb and Xe$-$Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV and 5.44 TeV, respectively, with ALICE. In addition, the recently proposed higher-order correlation between $[p_{\rm T}]$, $v_{\rm 2}$, and $v_{\rm 3}$ is measured for the first time, which shows an anticorrelation for the presented centrality ranges. These measurements are compared with hydrodynamic calculations using IP-Glasma and $\rm T_{R}ENTo$ initial-state shapes, the former based on the Color Glass Condensate effective theory with gluon saturation, and the latter a parameterized model with nucleons as the relevant degrees of freedom. The data are better described by the IP-Glasma rather than the $\rm T_{R}ENTo$ based calculations. In particular, Trajectum and JETSCAPE predictions, both based on the $\rm T_{R}ENTo$ initial state model but with different parameter settings, fail to describe the measurements. As the correlations between $[p_{\rm T}]$ and $v_{\rm n}$ are mainly driven by the correlations of the size and the shape of the system in the initial state, these new studies pave a novel way to characterize the initial state and help pin down the uncertainty of the extracted properties of the quark$-$gluon plasma recreated in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

This paper presents measurements of charged-hadron spectra obtained in $pp$, $p$+Pb, and Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ or $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV, and in Xe+Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}=5.44$ TeV. The data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC have total integrated luminosities of 25 pb${}^{-1}$, 28 nb${}^{-1}$, 0.50 nb${}^{-1}$, and 3 $\mu$b${}^{-1}$, respectively. The nuclear modification factors $R_{p\text{Pb}}$ and $R_\text{AA}$ are obtained by comparing the spectra in heavy-ion and $pp$ collisions in a wide range of charged-particle transverse momenta and pseudorapidity. The nuclear modification factor $R_{p\text{Pb}}$ shows a moderate enhancement above unity with a maximum at $p_{\mathrm{T}} \approx 3$ GeV; the enhancement is stronger in the Pb-going direction. The nuclear modification factors in both Pb+Pb and Xe+Xe collisions feature a significant, centrality-dependent suppression. They show a similar distinct $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependence with a local maximum at $p_{\mathrm{T}} \approx 2$ GeV and a local minimum at $p_{\mathrm{T}} \approx 7$ GeV. This dependence is more distinguishable in more central collisions. No significant $|\eta|$-dependence is found. A comprehensive comparison with several theoretical predictions is also provided. They typically describe $R_\text{AA}$ better in central collisions and in the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ range from about 10 to 100 GeV.

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.

This note describes the details of the analysis of charged-particle pseudorapidity densities and multiplicity distributions measured by the ALICE detector in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 and 7 TeV in specific phase space regions. The primary goal of the analysis is to provide reference measurements for Monte Carlo tuning. The pseudorapidity range |h| < 0.8 is considered and a lower $p_T$ cut is applied, at 0.15, 0.5 GeV/c and at 1 GeV/c. The choice of such phase space regions to measure the charged-particle multiplicity allows a direct comparison with the analogous results obtained by other LHC collaborations, namely ATLAS and CMS. The class of events considered are those having at least one charged particle in the kinematical ranges just described. In the note, the analysis procedure is presented, together with the corrections applied to the data, and the systematic uncertainty evaluation. The comparison of the results with different Monte Carlo generators is also shown.

The differential yields of charged particles having pseudorapidity within $|\eta|<$ 1 are measured using xenon-xenon (XeXe) collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.44 TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.42 $\mu$b$^{-1}$, were collected in 2017 by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The yields are reported as functions of collision centrality and transverse momentum, $p_\mathrm{T}$, from 0.5 to 100 GeV. A previously reported $p_\mathrm{T}$ spectrum from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV is used for comparison after correcting for the difference in center-of-mass energy. The nuclear modification factors using this reference, $R_\mathrm{AA}^*$, are constructed and compared to previous measurements and theoretical predictions. In head-on collisions, the $R_\mathrm{AA}^*$ has a value of 0.17 in the $p_\mathrm{T}$ range of 6-8 GeV, but increases to approximately 0.7 at 100 GeV. Above $\approx$ 6 GeV, the XeXe data show a notably smaller suppression than previous results for lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV when compared at the same centrality (i.e., the same fraction of total cross section). However, the XeXe suppression is slightly greater than that for PbPb in events having a similar number of participating nucleons.

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.