Technical design report for the upgrade of the ALICE inner tracking system
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is studying the physics of strongly interacting matter, and in particular the properties of the Quark–Gluon Plasma (QGP), using proton–proton, proton–nucleus and nucleus–nucleus collisions at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider). The ALICE Collaboration is preparing a major upgrade of the experimental apparatus, planned for installation in the second long LHC shutdown in the years 2018–2019. A key element of the ALICE upgrade is the construction of a new, ultra-light, high- resolution Inner Tracking System (ITS) based on monolithic CMOS pixel detectors. The primary focus of the ITS upgrade is on improving the performance for detection of heavy-flavour…
Measurement of PromptD-Meson Production inp−PbCollisions atsNN=5.02 TeV
The p_{T}-differential production cross sections of the prompt charmed mesons D^{0}, D^{+}, D^{*+}, and D_{s}^{+} and their charge conjugate in the rapidity interval -0.96<y_{cms}<0.04 were measured in p-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The nuclear modification factor R_{pPb}, quantifying the D-meson yield in p-Pb collisions relative to the yield in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, is compatible within the 15%-20% uncertainties with unity in the transverse momentum interval 1<p_{T}<24 GeV/c. No significant difference among the R_{pPb} of the four D-meson species is observed. The results…
Suppression of Λ(1520) resonance production in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV
The production yield of the Λ(1520) baryon resonance is measured at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The measurement is performed in the Λ(1520)→pK− (and charge conjugate) hadronic decay channel as a function of the transverse momentum (pT) and collision centrality. The ratio of the pT-integrated production of Λ(1520) baryons relative to Λ baryons in central collisions is suppressed by about a factor of 2 with respect to peripheral collisions. This is the first observation of the suppression of a baryonic resonance at the LHC and the first 3σ evidence of Λ(1520) suppression within a single collision system. The mea…
Production of Muons from Heavy Flavor Decays at Forward Rapidity inppand Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=2.76 TeV
The ALICE Collaboration has measured the inclusive production of muons from heavy-flavor decays at forward rapidity, 2.5 < y < 4, in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV. The p(t)-differential inclusive cross section of muons from heavy-flavor decays in pp collisions is compared to perturbative QCD calculations. The nuclear modification factor is studied as a function of p(t) and collision centrality. A weak suppression is measured in peripheral collisions. In the most central collisions, a suppression of a factor of about 3-4 is observed in 6 < p(t) < 10 GeV/c. The suppression shows no significant p(t) dependence.
Upgrade of the ALICE Experiment Letter Of Intent
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is studying the physics of strongly interacting matter, and in particular the properties of the Quark–Gluon Plasma (QGP), using proton–proton, proton–nucleus and nucleus–nucleus collisions at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider). The ALICE Collaboration is preparing a major upgrade of the experimental apparatus, planned for installation in the second long LHC shutdown in the years 2018–2019. These plans are presented in the ALICE Upgrade Letter of Intent, submitted to the LHCC (LHC experiments Committee) in September 2012. In order to fully exploit the physics reach of the LHC in this field, high- precision measurements of the heavy-flavour production…
Azimuthal anisotropy ofD-meson production in Pb-Pb collisions atsNN=2.76TeV
The production of the prompt charmed mesons D0, D+, and D*+ relative to the reaction plane was measured in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision of √sNN=2.76TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decays at central rapidity in the transverse-momentum (p_T) interval 2–16 GeV/c. The azimuthal anisotropy is quantified in terms of the second coefficient v2 in a Fourier expansion of the D-meson azimuthal distribution and in terms of the nuclear modification factor R_AA, measured in the direction of the reaction plane and orthogonal to it. The v2 coefficient was measured with three different …
Measurement of transverse energy at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions atsNN=2.76TeV
We report the transverse energy ($E_{\mathrm T}$) measured with ALICE at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}}$ = 2.76 TeV as a function of centrality. The transverse energy was measured using identified single particle tracks. The measurement was cross checked using the electromagnetic calorimeters and the transverse momentum distributions of identified particles previously reported by ALICE. The results are compared to theoretical models as well as to results from other experiments. The mean $E_{\mathrm T}$ per unit pseudorapidity ($\eta$), $\langle $d$E_{\mathrm T}/$d$\eta \rangle$, in 0-5% central collisions is 1737 $\pm$ 6(stat.) $\pm$ 97(sys.) GeV. We find a si…
Multiplicity dependence of the average transverse momentum in pp, p–Pb, and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC
The average transverse momentum $\langle p_{\rm T}\rangle$ versus the charged-particle multiplicity $N_{\rm ch}$ was measured in p-Pb collisions at a collision energy per nucleon-nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV and in pp collisions at collision energies of $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76, and 7 TeV in the kinematic range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<10.0$ GeV/$c$ and $|\eta|<0.3$ with the ALICE apparatus at the LHC. These data are compared to results in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV at similar charged-particle multiplicities. In pp and p-Pb collisions, a strong increase of $\langle p_{\rm T}\rangle$ with $N_{\rm ch}$ is observed, which is much stronger than that measured in Pb-Pb colli…
Measurement of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavor hadron decays inppcollisions ats=2.76 TeV
The pT-differential production cross section of electrons from semileptonic decays of heavy-flavor hadrons has been measured at midrapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=2.76TeV in the transverse momentum range 0.5<pT<12GeV/c with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The analysis was performed using minimum bias events and events triggered by the electromagnetic calorimeter. Predictions from perturbative QCD calculations agree with the data within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties.
Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurement…
Multi-particle azimuthal correlations in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
Measurements of multi-particle azimuthal correlations (cumulants) for charged particles in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions are presented. They help address the question of whether there is evidence for global, flow-like, azimuthal correlations in the p-Pb system. Comparisons are made to measurements from the larger Pb-Pb system, where such evidence is established. In particular, the second harmonic two-particle cumulants are found to decrease with multiplicity, characteristic of a dominance of few-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions. However, when a $|\Delta \eta|$ gap is placed to suppress such correlations, the two-particle cumulants begin to rise at high-multiplicity, indicating the prese…
Neutral pion and η meson production at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV
Neutral pion and η meson production in the transverse momentum range 1 <pT< 20 GeV/c have been measured at midrapidity by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in central and semicentral Pb-Pb collisions at sNN = 2.76 TeV. These results were obtained using the photon conversion method as well as the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS) and Electromagnetic Calorimeter detectors. The results extend the upper pT reach of the previous ALICE π0 measurements from 12 to 20 GeV/c and present the first measurement of η meson production in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The η/π0 ratio is similar for the two centralities and reaches at high pT a plateau value of 0.457 ± 0.013stat ± 0.018sys…
Centrality Dependence of the Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=2.76 TeV
The centrality dependence of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2: 76 TeV is presented. The charged-particle density normalized per participating nucleon pair increases by about a factor of 2 from peripheral (70%-80%) to central (0%-5%) collisions. The centrality dependence is found to be similar to that observed at lower collision energies. The data are compared with models based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions.
J/ψPolarization inppCollisions ats=7 TeV
The ALICE Collaboration has studied J/psi production in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV at the LHC through its muon pair decay. The polar and azimuthal angle distributions of the decay muons were measured, and results on the J/psi polarization parameters lambda(theta) and lambda(phi) were obtained. The study was performed in the kinematic region 2: 5 < y < 4, 2 < p(t) < 8 GeV/c, in the helicity and Collins-Soper reference frames. In both frames, the polarization parameters are compatible with zero, within uncertainties.