Updated measurement of the τ lepton lifetime

A new measurement of the mean lifetime of the tau lepton is presented. Three different analysis methods are applied to a sample of 90000 tau pairs, collected in 1993 and 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP. The average of this measurement and those previously published by ALEPH is tau_tau = 290.1 +- 1.5 +- 1.1 fs.

Studies of Quantum Chromodynamics with the ALEPH Detector

Previously published and as vet unpublished QCD results obtained with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 are presented. The unprecedented statistics allows detailed studies of both perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of strong interactions to be carried out using hadronic Z and tau decays. The studies presented include precise determinations of the strong coupling constant. tests of its flavour independence, tests of the SU(3) gauge structure of QCD, study of coherence effects, and measurements of single-particle inclusive distributions and two-particle correlations for many identified baryons and mesons. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

HΛ3 and H‾Λ¯3 production in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

Abstract The production of the hypertriton nuclei H Λ 3 and H ‾ Λ ¯ 3 has been measured for the first time in Pb–Pb collisions at s NN = 2.76  TeV with the ALICE experiment at LHC. The p T -integrated H Λ 3 yield in one unity of rapidity, d N / d y × B . R . ( H Λ 3 → He 3 , π − ) = ( 3.86 ± 0.77 ( stat. ) ± 0.68 ( syst. ) ) × 10 − 5 in the 0–10% most central collisions, is consistent with the predictions from a statistical thermal model using the same temperature as for the light hadrons. The coalescence parameter B 3 shows a dependence on the transverse momentum, similar to the B 2 of deuterons and the B 3 of 3He nuclei. The ratio of yields S 3 = H Λ 3 / ( He 3 × Λ / p ) was measured to b…

Measurement of charged jet production cross sections and nuclear modification in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

Charged jet production cross sections in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC are presented. Using the anti-kT algorithm, jets have been reconstructed in the central rapidity region from charged particles with resolution parameters R = 0.2 and R = 0.4. The reconstructed jets have been corrected for detector effects and the underlying event background. To calculate the nuclear modification factor, RpPb, of charged jets in p–Pb collisions, a pp reference was constructed by scaling previously measured charged jet spectra at √s = 7 TeV. In the transverse momentum range 20 ≤ pT, ch jet ≤ 120 GeV/c, RpPb is found to be consistent with unity, indicating th…

A measurement of the inclusive b → sγ branching ratio

The flavour changing neutral current decay b --> s gamma has been detected in hadronic Z decays collected by ALEPH at LEP. The signal is isolated in lifetime-tagged b (b) over bar events by the presence of a hard photon associated with a system of high momentum and high rapidity hadrons. The background processes are normalised from the data themselves. The inclusive branching ratio is measured to be (3.11 +/- 0.80(stat) +/- 0.72(syst)) x 10(-4), consistent with the Standard Model expectation via penguin processes. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. The flavour changing neutral current decay b → sγ has been detected in hadronic Z decays collected by ALEPH at …

Freeze-out radii extracted from three-pion cumulants in pp, p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC

In high-energy collisions, the spatio-temporal size of the particle production region can be measured using the Bose-Einstein correlations of identical bosons at low relative momentum. The source radii are typically extracted using two-pion correlations, and characterize the system at the last stage of interaction, called kinetic freeze-out. In low-multiplicity collisions, unlike in high-multiplicity collisions, two-pion correlations are substantially altered by background correlations, e.g. mini-jets. Such correlations can be suppressed using three-pion cumulant correlations. We present the first measurements of the size of the system at freeze-out extracted from three-pion cumulant correl…

D -Meson Azimuthal Anisotropy in Midcentral Pb-Pb Collisions at sNN=5.02  TeV

A.I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) Foundation (ANSL), State Committee of Science and World Federation of Scientists (WFS), Armenia; Austrian Academy of Sciences and Nationalstiftung fur Forschung, Technologie und Entwicklung, Austria; Ministry of Communications and High Technologies, National Nuclear Research Center, Azerbaijan; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (Finep), and Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil; Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MSTC), National Natural Science Foundation of …

Transverse momentum spectra and nuclear modification factors of charged particles in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC

We report the measured transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) spectra of primary charged particles from pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV in the kinematic range of $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ and $|\eta|< 0.8$. A significant improvement of systematic uncertainties motivated the reanalysis of data in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV, as well as in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, which is also presented. Spectra from Pb-Pb collisions are presented in nine centrality intervals and are compared to a reference spectrum from pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. For cent…

Search for the Bc meson in hadronic Z decays

A search for the B-c meson decaying into the channels J/psi pi(+) and J/psi l(+)nu(l) (l = e or mu) is performed in a sample of 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector. This search results in the observation of 0 and 2 candidates in each of these channels, respectively, while 0.44 and 0.81 background events are expected. The following 90% confidence level upper limits are derived: Br(Z --> BcX)/Br(Z --> q (q) over bar BR(B-c(+) --> J/psi pi(+)) BcX)/Br(Z-->q (q) over bar)Br(B-c(+) --> J/psi l(+)nu) J/psi(e(+)e(-))mu(+)nu(mu) candidate with very low background probability, found in an independent analysis, is also described in detail. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Scie…

Measurement of the W mass in e(+)e(-) collisions at production threshold

In June 1996, the LEP centre-of-mass energy was raised to 161 GeV. Pair production of W bosons in e(+)e(-) collisions was observed for the first time by the LEP experiments. An integrated luminosity of 11 pb(-1) was recorded in the ALEPH detector, in which WW candidate events were observed. In 6 events both Ws decay leptonically. In 16 events, one W decays leptonically, the other into hadrons. In the channel where both Ws decay into hadrons, a signal was separated from the large background by means of several multi-variate analyses. The W pair cross-section is measured to be sigma(ww) = 4.23 +/- 0.73(stat.) +/- 0.19(syst.) pb. From this cross-section, the W mass is derived within the framew…

The PHENIX Collaboration

Dielectron and heavy-quark production in inelastic and high-multiplicity proton–proton collisions at s=13TeV

The measurement of dielectron production is presented as a function of invariant mass and transverse momentum (pT) at midrapidity (|ye|&lt;0.8) in proton–proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV. The contributions from light-hadron decays are calculated from their measured cross sections in pp collisions at s=7 TeV or 13 TeV. The remaining continuum stems from correlated semileptonic decays of heavy-flavour hadrons. Fitting the data with templates from two different MC event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, the charm and beauty cross sections at midrapidity are extracted for the first time at this collision energy: dσcc¯/dy|y=0=974±138(stat.)±140(syst.)±214(BR)μb and dσbb…

Charged jet cross section and fragmentation in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. We report the differential charged jet cross section and jet fragmentation distributions measured with the ALICE detector in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy √s=7  TeV. Jets with pseudorapidity |η|40  GeV/c, the pythia calculations also agree with the measured charged jet cross section. pythia6 simulations describe the fragmentation distributions to 15%. Larger discrepancies are observed for pythia8. SCOAP

The optical instrumentation of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter

The purpose of this Note is to describe the optical assembly procedure called here Optical Instrumentation and the quality tests conducted on the assembled units. Altogether, 65 Barrel (or LB) modules were constructed - including one spare - together with 129 Extended Barrel (EB) modules (including one spare). The LB modules were mechanically assembled at JINR (Dubna, Russia) and transported to CERN, where the optical instrumentation was performed with personnel contributed by several Institutes. The modules composing one of the two Extended Barrels (known as EBA) were mechanically assembled in the USA, and instrumented in two US locations (ANL, U. of Michigan), while the modules of the oth…

Scalar quark searches in $e^+ e^-$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 181-184 GeV

Searches for scalar top, scalar bottom and degenerate scalar quarks have been performed with data collected with the ALEPH detector at LEP. The data sample consists of 57 pb^-1 taken at sqrt{s} = 181-184 GeV. No evidence for scalar top, scalar bottom or degenerate scalar quarks was found in the channels tilde{t} --&gt; c chi, tilde{t} --&gt; b l snu, tilde{b} --&gt; b chi, and tilde{q} --&gt; q chi. From the channel tilde{t} --&gt; c chi a limit of 74 GeV/c^2 has been set on the scalar top quark mass, independent of the mixing angle. This limit assumes a mass difference between the stop and the chi in the range 10-40 GeV/c^2. From the channel tilde{t} --&gt; b l snu the mixing-angle-indepen…

Testbeam studies of production modules of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter

We report test beam studies of {11\,\%} of the production ATLAS Tile Calorimeter modules. The modules were equipped with production front-end electronics and all the calibration systems planned for the final detector. The studies used muon, electron and hadron beams ranging in energy from 3~GeV to 350~GeV. Two independent studies showed that the light yield of the calorimeter was $\sim 70$~pe/GeV, exceeding the design goal by {40\,\%}. Electron beams provided a calibration of the modules at the electromagnetic energy scale. Over 200~calorimeter cells the variation of the response was {2.4\,\%}. The linearity with energy was also measured. Muon beams provided an intercalibration of the respo…

Elliptic flow of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

The elliptic flow, $v_{2}$, of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity ($2.5 < y < 4$) is measured in Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$~=~2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The scalar product, two- and four-particle $Q$ cumulants and Lee-Yang zeros methods are used. The dependence of the $v_2$ of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays on the collision centrality, in the range 0--40\%, and on transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, is studied in the interval $3 < p_{\rm T} < 10$~GeV/$c$. A positive $v_2$ is observed with the scalar product and two-particle $Q$ cumulants in semi-central collisions (10--20\% and 20--40\% centrality classes) for the $p_{\rm T}$ int…

Study of muon-pair production at centre-of-mass energies from 20 to 136 GeV with the ALEPH detector

The total cross section and the forward-backward asymmetry for the process e(+)e --> mu(+)mu(-)(n gamma) are measured in the energy range 20-136 GeV by reconstructing the effective centre-of-mass energy after initial state radiation. The analysis is based on the data recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP between 1990 and 1995, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 143.5 pb(-1). Two different approaches are used: in the first one an exclusive selection of events with hard initial state radiation in the energy range 20-88 GeV is directly compared with the Standard Model predictions showing good agreement. In the second one, all events are used to obtain a precise measurement of …

The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance

The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 GeV/$c$ in p-Pb collisions and the resolution at high transverse momentum improves by about 40% when including the TRD information in track reconstruction. The triggering capability is demonstrated both …

Resonant structure and flavour tagging in the Bπ±system using fully reconstructed B decays

Abstract Starting from a sample of four million hadronic Z decays collected with the ALEPH detector at LEP, 404 charged and neutral B mesons are fully reconstructed and used to look for resonant structure in the Bπ system. An excess of events is observed above the expected background in the Bπ mass spectrum at a mass ≈5.7 GeV/c 2 , consistent with the production and decay to B (∗) π of the B ∗∗ states predicted by Heavy Quark Symmetry (HQS). In the framework of HQS, it is found that the mass of the B 2 ∗ state is (5739 + 8 −11 ( stat ) +6 −4 ( syst )) MeV/c 2 and the relative production rate of the B ∗∗ system is BR(b→B ∗∗ →B (∗) π)/BR(b→B u,d )=(31±9 (stat) +6 −5 (syst)) % . In the same sa…

Centrality, rapidity and transverse momentum dependence of J/ψ suppression in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

The inclusive J/.nuclear modification factor (R-AA) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76TeVhas been measured by ALICE as a function of centrality in the e+ e-decay channel at mid-rapidity (| y| < 0.8) and as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity in the + -decay channel at forward-rapidity (2.5 < y < 4). The J/.yields measured in Pb-Pb are suppressed compared to those in ppcollisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. The RAAintegrated over a centrality range corresponding to 90% of the inelastic Pb-Pb cross section is 0.72 - 0.06(stat.) - 0.10(syst.) at mid-rapidity and 0.58 - 0.01(stat.) - 0.09(syst.) at forward-rapidity. At low transverse momentum, signi…

Searches for transverse momentum dependent flow vector fluctuations in Pb-Pb and p-Pb collisions at the LHC

The measurement of azimuthal correlations of charged particles is presented for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=$ 2.76 TeV and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=$ 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. These correlations are measured for the second, third and fourth order flow vector in the pseudorapidity region $|��|&lt;0.8$ as a function of centrality and transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$ using two observables, to search for evidence of $p_{\rm T}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations. For Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV, the measurements indicate that $p_{\rm T}$-dependent fluctuations are only present for the second order flow vector. Similar results hav…

Flow dominance and factorization of transverse momentum correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC

Physical review letters 118(16), 162302 (2017). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.162302

A measurement of Rb using a lifetime-mass tag

ALEPH's published measurement of R-b = Gamma(Z --> b (b) over bar)/Gamma(Z --> hadrons) using a lifetime tag is updated using the full LEP 1 data sample. Considerable effort has been devoted to understanding systematic effects. Charm background is better controlled by combining the lifetime tag with a tag based on the b/c hadron mass difference. Furthermore, the algorithm used to reconstruct the event primary vertex is designed so as to reduce correlations between the two hemispheres of an event. The value of R-b is measured to be 0.2167 +/- 0.0011(stat) +/- 0.0013(syst). (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. RI ANTONELLI, ANTONELLA/C-6238-2011; Passalacqua, Luca/F-5127-2011; Murtas, …

Trends in Yield and Azimuthal Shape Modification in Dihadron Correlations in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

Fast parton probes produced by hard scattering and embedded within collisions of large nuclei have shown that partons suffer large energy loss and that the produced medium may respond collectively to the lost energy. We present measurements of neutral pion trigger particles at transverse momenta p^t_T = 4-12 GeV/c and associated charged hadrons (p^a_T = 0.5-7 GeV/c) as a function of relative azimuthal angle Delta Phi at midrapidity in Au+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. These data lead to two major observations. First, the relative angular distribution of low momentum hadrons, whose shape modification has been interpreted as a medium response to parton energy loss, is found to…

Production of charged pions, kaons, and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb and inelastic pp collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

Mid-rapidity production of $\pi^{\pm}$, $\rm{K}^{\pm}$ and ($\bar{\rm{p}}$)p measured by the ALICE experiment at the LHC, in Pb-Pb and inelastic pp collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV, is presented. The invariant yields are measured over a wide transverse momentum ($p_{\rm{T}}$) range from hundreds of MeV/$c$ up to 20 GeV/$c$. The results in Pb-Pb collisions are presented as a function of the collision centrality, in the range 0$-$90%. The comparison of the $p_{\rm{T}}$-integrated particle ratios, i.e. proton-to-pion (p/$\pi$) and kaon-to-pion (K/$\pi$) ratios, with similar measurements in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV show no significant energy dependence. B…

Harmonic decomposition of two particle angular correlations in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

Angular correlations between unidentified charged trigger (t) and associated (a) particles are measured by the ALICE experiment in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV for transverse momenta 0.25 p(T)(a). The shapes of the pair correlation distributions are studied in a variety of collision centrality classes between 0 and 50% of the total hadronic cross section for particles in the pseudorapidity interval |eta| 0.8, and are referred to as "long-range correlations". Fourier components V-n Delta equivalent to are extracted from the long-range azimuthal correlation functions. If particle pairs are correlated to one another through their individual correlation to a common symmetry plane, …

Pseudorapidity dependence of the anisotropic flow of charged particles in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

We present measurements of the elliptic ($\mathrm{v}_2$), triangular ($\mathrm{v}_3$) and quadrangular ($\mathrm{v}_4$) anisotropic azimuthal flow over a wide range of pseudorapidities ($-3.5< \eta < 5$). The measurements are performed with Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 2.76$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The flow harmonics are obtained using two- and four-particle correlations from nine different centrality intervals covering central to peripheral collisions. We find that the shape of $\mathrm{v}_n(\eta)$ is largely independent of centrality for the flow harmonics $n=2-4$, however the higher harmonics fall off more steeply with increasing $|…

Inclusive quarkonium production at forward rapidity in pp collisions at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\mathbf {\sqrt{s}=8}~$$\end{document}s=8TeV

We report on the inclusive production cross sections of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathrm{J}/\psi }$$\end{document}J/ψ, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\psi (\mathrm{2S})}$$\end{document}ψ(2S), \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepac…

Charm counting in b decays

??? The inclusive production of charmed particles in Z--> decays has been measured from the yield of D-0, D+, D-s(+) and Lambda(c)(+) decays in a sample of events with high b purity collected with the ALEPH detector from 1992 to 1995. From these measurements, adding the charmonia production rate and an estimate of the charmed strange baryon contribution, the average number of charm quarks per b decay is determined to be n(c)=1.230+/-0.036+/-0.038+/-0.053, where the uncertainties are due to statistics, systematic effects and branching ratios, respectively.

ϕ-Meson production at forward rapidity in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV and in pp collisions at s=2.76 TeV

The first study of $\phi$-meson production in p–Pb collisions at forward and backward rapidity, at a nucleon– nucleon centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{S_{NN}}$= 5.02 TeV, has been performed with the ALICE apparatus at the LHC. The $\phi$-mesons have been identified in the dimuon decay channel in the transverse momentum ($p_T$) range 1 < $p_T$ < 7 GeV/c, both in the p-going (2.03 < y < 3.53) and the Pb-going (−4.46 < y < −2.96) directions — where $y$ stands for the rapidity in the nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass — the integrated luminosity amounting to 5.01 ± 0.19 nb$^{−1}$ and 5.81 ± 0.20 nb$^{−1}$ , respectively, for the two data samples. Differential cross sections as a function of transverse …

Anisotropic Flow of Charged Particles in Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=5.02  TeV

We report the first results of elliptic (v2), triangular (v3), and quadrangular (v4) flow of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of √sNN=5.02  TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the central pseudorapidity region |η|<0.8 and for the transverse momentum range 0.2<pT<5  GeV/c. The anisotropic flow is measured using two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity gap greater than one unit and with the multiparticle cumulant method. Compared to results from Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76  TeV, the anisotropic flow coefficients v2, v3, and v4 are found to increase by (3.0±0.6)%, (4.3±1.4)%, …

Measuring KS0K± interactions using Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

We present the first measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the KS0 and K± particles in pp collisions at s=7 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding solely via the a0(980) resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for KS0K− are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for KS0K+ . Results of the present study are compared with those from identical-kaon femtoscopic studies also performed with pp collisions at s=7 TeV by ALICE and with a KS0K± measurement in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV. Combined with the Pb–Pb results, our pp a…

Search for weakly decaying Λn‾ and ΛΛ exotic bound states in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

We present results of a search for two hypothetical strange dibaryon states, i.e. the H-dibaryon and the possible (Lambda n) over bar bound state. The search is performed with the ALICE detector in central (0-10%) Pb-Pb collisions at root S-NN = 2.76 TeV, by invariant mass analysis in the decay modes (Lambda n) over bar (d) over bar pi(+) and H-dibaryon -> Lambda p pi(-). No evidence for these bound states is observed. Upper limits are determined at 99% confidence level for a wide range of lifetimes and for the full range of branching ratios. The results are compared to thermal, coalescence and hybrid UrQMD model expectations, which describe correctly the production of other loosely bound s…

Pseudorapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of charged particles in proton–proton collisions at s=13 TeV

The pseudorapidity (η) and transverse-momentum (pT) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions are measured at the centre-of-mass energy s√ = 13 TeV. The pseudorapidity distribution in |η|< 1.8 is reported for inelastic events and for events with at least one charged particle in | η|< 1. The pseudorapidity density of charged particles produced in the pseudorapidity region |η|< 0.5 is 5.31 ± 0.18 and 6.46 ± 0.19 for the two event classes, respectively. The transverse-momentum distribution of charged particles is measured in the range 0.15 < pT < 20 GeV/c and |η|< 0.8 for events with at least one charged particle in |η|< 1. The correlation between transverse momen…

Measurements of e+e− pairs from open heavy flavor in p+p and d+A collisions at sNN=200 GeV

We report a measurement of e+e− pairs from semileptonic heavy-flavor decays in p+p collisions at sNN=200 GeV. The e+e− pair yield from bb¯ and cc¯ is separated by exploiting a double differential fit done simultaneously in dielectron invariant mass and pT. We used three different event generators, pythia, mc@nlo, and powheg, to simulate the e+e− spectra from cc¯ and bb¯ production. The data can be well described by all three generators within the detector acceptance. However, when using the generators to extrapolate to 4π, significant differences are observed for the total cross section. These difference are less pronounced for bb¯ than for cc¯. The same model dependence was observed in alr…

Real-time data processing in the ALICE High Level Trigger at the LHC

At the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, atomic nuclei are collided at ultra-relativistic energies. Many final-state particles are produced in each collision and their properties are measured by the ALICE detector. The detector signals induced by the produced particles are digitized leading to data rates that are in excess of 48 GB/$s$. The ALICE High Level Trigger (HLT) system pioneered the use of FPGA- and GPU-based algorithms to reconstruct charged-particle trajectories and reduce the data size in real time. The results of the reconstruction of the collision events, available online, are used for high level data quality and detector-performance monitoring and real-tim…

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the MSSM in e(+)e(-) collisions at root s from 130 to 172 GeV

The process e(+)e(-) --> hA is used to search for the Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), in the b (b) over bar b (b) over bar and tau(+)tau(-)b (b) over bar final states, The search is performed in the data collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP, at centre-of-mass energies between 130 and 172 GeV and with a total luminosity of 27.2 pb(-1). No candidate events are found in either of the final states, in agreement with the expected background of 0.91 events from all Standard Model processes. Combined with searches for e(+)e(-) --> hZ, this results in a 95% C.L. lower limit on the masses of both h and A of 62.5 GeV/c(2), for tan beta > 1. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie…

Production of charged pions, kaons and protons at large transverse momenta in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

Transverse momentum spectra of pi(+/-), K-+/- and p((p) over bar) up to p(T) = 20 GeV/c at mid-rapidity in pp, peripheral (60-80%) and central (0-5%) Pb-Pb collisions at v root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV have been measured using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The proton-to-pion and the kaon-to-pionratios both show a distinct peak at p(T) approximate to 3 GeV/c in central Pb-Pb collisions. Below the peak, p(T) 10 GeV/c particle ratios in pp and Pb-Pb collisions are in agreement and the nuclear modification factors for pi(+/-), K-+/- and p((p) over bar) indicate that, within the systematic and statistical uncertainties, the suppression is the same. This suggests that the chemical comp…

Measurement of the branching fraction for D0 → K-π+

The branching fraction for D-0 --> K(-)pi(+) is measured with the statistics collected by ALEPH from 1991 to 1994. The method is based on the comparison between the rate for the reconstructed D*+ --> (D) pi(+), D-0 --> K(-)pi(+) decay chain and the rate for inclusive soft pion production at low transverse momentum with respect to the nearest jet. The result is B(D-0 --> K(-)pi(+)) = (3.90 +/- 0.09 +/- 0.12)% (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. RI ANTONELLI, ANTONELLA/C-6238-2011; Passalacqua, Luca/F-5127-2011; Murtas, Fabrizio/B-5729-2012; St.Denis, Richard/C-8997-2012; Sanchez, Federico/F-5809-2012; Forti, Francesco/H-3035-2011; Ferrante, Isidoro/F-1017-2012

Production of orbitally excited charm mesons in semileptonic B decays

A sample of 3.6 million hadronic Z decays recorded between 1991 and 1995 with the ALEPH detector at LEP is used to investigate semileptonic decays of B mesons into final states involving orbitally excited charm mesons. Topological vertex criteria are used to search for decays involving narrow D** states as well as wide D** resonances and non-resonant D(*)pi final states. The sum of the branching ratios for these processes is measured to be Br((B) over bar --> D pi l(-)(v) over bar) + Br((B) over bar --> D*pi l(-)(v) over bar) = (2.26 +/-t 0.29(stat) +/- 0.33(syst))%, which accounts for a significant fraction of the deficit between inclusive measurements and the sum of exclusive semileptonic…

The ATLAS hadronic tile calorimeter: From construction toward-physics

ATLAS; The Tile Calorimeter, which constitutes the central section of the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter, is a non-compensating sampling device made of iron and scintillating tiles. The construction phase of the calorimeter is nearly complete, and most of the effort now is directed toward the final assembly and commissioning in the underground experimental hall. The layout of the calorimeter and the tasks carried out during construction are described, first with a brief reminder of the requirements that drove the calorimeter design. During the last few years a comprehensive test-beam program has been followed in order to establish the calorimeter electromagnetic energy scale, to study its unifo…

Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in e+e− collisions at =161, 170 172

The reaction e(+)e(-) --> HZ is used to search for the Standard Model Higgs boson, The data sample consists of integrated luminosities of 10.9 pb(-1), 1.1 pb(-1), and 9.5 pb(-1) collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP during 1996, at centre-of-mass energies of 161, 170 and 172 GeV, respectively. No candidate events were found, in agreement with the expected background of 0.84 events from all Standard Model processes. This search results in a 95% C.L. lower limit on the Higgs boson mass of 69.4 GeV/c(2). When combined with earlier ALEPH searches performed at energies at and around the Z peak, this limit increases to 70.7 GeV/c(2). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Search for sleptons in e+e− collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 161 GeV and 172 GeV

The data recorded by the ALEPH experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies of 161 GeV and 172 GeV were analysed to search for sleptons, the supersymmetric partners of leptons. No evidence for the production of these particles was found. The number of candidates observed is consistent with the background expected from four-fermion processes and gammagamma-interactions. Improved mass limits at 95% C.L. are reported.

Measurement of the higher-order anisotropic flow coefficients for identified hadrons in Au + Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

Measurements of the anisotropic flow coefficients v2{Ψ2},v3{Ψ3},v4{Ψ4}, and v4{Ψ2} for identified particles (π±,K±, and p+p) at midrapidity, obtained relative to the event planes Ψm at forward rapidities in Au + Au collisions at sNN=200GeV, are presented as a function of collision centrality and particle transverse momenta pT. The vn coefficients show characteristic patterns consistent with hydrodynamical expansion of the matter produced in the collisions. For each harmonic n, a modified valence quark-number Nq scaling [plotting vn{Ψm}/(Nq)n/2 versus transverse kinetic energies (KET)/Nq] is observed to yield a single curve for all the measured particle species for a broad range of KET. A si…

The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

Journal of Instrumentation 3(08), S08002 (2008). doi:10.1088/1748-0221/3/08/S08002

Charged jet cross sections and properties in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV

The differential charged jet cross sections, jet fragmentation distributions, and jet shapes are measured in minimum bias proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed from charged particle momenta in the mid-rapidity region using the sequential recombination $k_{\rm T}$ and anti-$k_{\rm T}$ as well as the SISCone jet finding algorithms with several resolution parameters in the range $R=0.2$ to $0.6$. Differential jet production cross sections measured with the three jet finders are in agreement in the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) interval $20<p_{\rm T}^{\rm jet,ch}<100$ GeV/$c$. They are also consistent w…

Measurement of pion, kaon and proton production in proton–proton collisions at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sqrt{s} = 7$$\end{document}s=7 TeV

The measurement of primary \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\pi ^{\pm }$$\end{document}π±, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$K^{\pm }$$\end{document}K±, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrs…

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 < |η| < 4.0) and associated particles in the cen

Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Central Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=2.76  TeV

The first measurement of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV is presented. For an event sample corresponding to the most central 5% of the hadronic cross section, the pseudorapidity density of primary charged particles at midrapidity is 1584 +/- 4(stat) +/- 76(syst), which corresponds to 8.3 +/- 0.4(syst) per participating nucleon pair. This represents an increase of about a factor 1.9 relative to pp collisions at similar collision energies, and about a factor 2.2 to central Au-Au collisions at root s(NN) = 0.2 TeV. This measurement provides the first experimental constraint for models…

Linear and non-linear flow mode in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V2 and V3, are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, e2 and e3, in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, Vn (n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow Vn for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.8 and the…

Production of K\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{*}$$\end{document}∗(892)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{0}$$\end{document}0 and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\phi $$\end{document}ϕ(1020) in p–Pb collisions at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sqrt{s_{{\text {NN}}}}$$\end{document}sNN = 5.02 TeV

The production of K\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{*}$$\end{document}∗(892)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{0}$$\end{document}0 and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage…

Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in |eta| < 0.8 and 0.3 < p(T) < 20 GeV/c are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same root s(NN), scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor R-AA. The result indicates only weak medium effects (R-AA approximate to 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In cen…

Two-pion Bose–Einstein correlations in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC. (C) 2010 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Azimuthally Differential Pion Femtoscopy in Pb-Pb Collisions at sNN=2.76  TeV

We present the first azimuthally differential measurements of the pion source size relative to the second harmonic event plane in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair of √sNN = 2.76 TeV. The measurements have been performed in the centrality range 0%-50% and for pion pair transverse momenta 0.2 < kT < 0.7 GeV/c. We find that the Rside and Rout radii, which characterize the pion source size in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the pion transverse momentum, oscillate out of phase, similar to what was observed at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The final-state source eccentricity, estimated via Rside oscillations, is found to be significantly sma…

Searches for scalar top and scalar bottom quarks at LEP2

Searches for scalar top and bottom quarks have been performed with data collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP. The data sample consists of 21.7 pb^-1 taken at sqrt{s} = 161, 170, and 172~GeV and 5.7 pb^-1 taken at sqrt{s} = 130 and 136~GeV. No evidence for scalar top quarks or scalar bottom quarks was found in the channels stop --&gt; c chi, stop --&gt; b l snu, and sbottom --&gt; b chi. For the channel stop --&gt; c chi a limit of 67 GeV/c^2 has been set on the scalar top quark mass, independent of the mixing angle between the supersymmetric partners of the left and right-handed states of the top quark. This limit assumes a mass difference between the stop and the chi of at least 10 GeV/c…

Elliptic Flow of Charged Particles in Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=2.76  TeV

We report the first measurement of charged particle elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) p = 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.8) and transverse momentum range 0.2 < p(t) < 5.0 GeV/c. The elliptic flow signal v(2), measured using the 4-particle correlation method, averaged over transverse momentum and pseudorapidity is 0.087 +/- 0.002(stat) +/- 0.003(syst) in the 40%-50% centrality class. The differential elliptic flow v(2)(p(t)) reaches a maximum of 0.2 near p(t) = 3 GeV/c. Compared to RHIC Au-Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV, the elliptic f…

Direct photon production in Pb–Pb collisions atsNN=2.76 TeV

Direct photon production at mid-rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV was studied in the transverse momentum range 0.9<pT<14 GeV/c. Photons were detected with the highly segmented electromagnetic calorimeter PHOS and via conversions in the ALICE detector material with the e+e− pair reconstructed in the central tracking system. The results of the two methods were combined and direct photon spectra were measured for the 0–20%, 20–40%, and 40–80% centrality classes. For all three classes, agreement was found with perturbative QCD calculations for pT≳5 GeV/c. Direct photon spectra down to pT≈1 GeV/c could be extracted for the 20–40% and 0–20% centrality classes. The significance of th…

Production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

Abstract The production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in p–Pb collisions at s NN = 5.02 TeV was studied for 2 p T 16 GeV/c with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The measurement was performed at forward (p-going direction) and backward (Pb-going direction) rapidity, in the ranges of rapidity in the centre-of-mass system (cms) 2.03 y cms 3.53 and − 4.46 y cms − 2.96 , respectively. The production cross sections and nuclear modification factors are presented as a function of transverse momentum ( p T ). At forward rapidity, the nuclear modification factor is compatible with unity while at backward rapidity, in the interval 2.5 p T 3.5 GeV/c, it is above unity by more than 2σ. Th…

Kaon femtoscopy in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV

We present the results of three-dimensional femtoscopic analyses for charged and neutral kaons recorded by ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at √ s NN = 2.76 TeV. Femtoscopy is used to measure the space-time characteristics of particle production from the effects of quantum statistics and final-state interactions in two-particle correlations. Kaon femtoscopy is an important supplement to that of pions because it allows one to distinguish between different model scenarios working equally well for pions. In particular, we compare the measured three-dimensional kaon radii with a purely hydrodynamical calculation and a model where the hydrodynamic phase is followed by a hadronic rescattering stage. The…

Precision measurement of the mass difference between light nuclei and anti-nuclei

The measurement of the mass differences for systems bound by the strong force has reached a very high precision with protons and anti-protons. The extension of such measurement from (anti-)baryons to (anti-)nuclei allows one to probe any difference in the interactions between nucleons and anti-nucleons encoded in the (anti-)nuclei masses. This force is a remnant of the underlying strong interaction among quarks and gluons and can be described by effective theories, but cannot yet be directly derived from quantum chromodynamics. Here we report a measurement of the difference between the ratios of the mass and charge of deuterons and anti-deuterons, and $^{3}{\rm He}$ and $^3\overline{\rm He}…

Centrality dependence of the pseudorapidity density distribution for charged particles in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

We present the charged-particle pseudorapidity density in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\,\mathrm{Te\kern-.25exV}$ in centrality classes measured by ALICE. The measurement covers a wide pseudorapidity range from $-3.5$ to $5$, which is sufficient for reliable estimates of the total number of charged particles produced in the collisions. For the most central (0-5%) collisions we find $21\,400\pm 1\,300$ while for the most peripheral (80-90%) we find $230\pm 38$. This corresponds to an increase of $(27\pm4)\%$ over the results at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=2.76\,\mathrm{Te\kern-.25exV}$ previously reported by ALICE. The energy dependence of the total number of charged particles…

Study of cosmic ray events with high muon multiplicity using the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

ALICE is one of four large experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, specially designed to study particle production in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Located 52 meters underground with 28 meters of overburden rock, it has also been used to detect muons produced by cosmic ray interactions in the upper atmosphere. In this paper, we present the multiplicity distribution of these atmospheric muons and its comparison with Monte Carlo simulations. This analysis exploits the large size and excellent tracking capability of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber. A special emphasis is given to the study of high multiplicity events containing more than 100 reconstructed muons a…

Observation of charmless hadronic B decays

Four candidates for charmless hadronic B decay are observed in a data sample of four million hadronic Z decays recorded by the ALEPH detector at LEP. The probability that these events come from background sources is estimated to be less than 10(-6). The average branching of weakly decaying B hadrons (a mixture of B-d(0), B-s(0) and Lambda(b) weighted by their production The average branching ratio of weakly decaying B hadrons (a mixture of B-d(0) cross sections and lifetimes, here denoted B) into two long-lived charged hadrons (pions, kaons or protons) is measured to be Br(B-->h(+)h(-))=(1.7(-0.7)(+1.0)+/-0.2)x10(-5). The relative branching fraction Br(B-d(s)(0)-->pi(+)pi(-)(K-))/Br(B-d(s)(…

Centrality and pseudorapidity dependence of the charged-particle multiplicity density in Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44TeV

In this Letter, the ALICE Collaboration presents the first measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity density, dNch/dη, and total charged-particle multiplicity, Nchtot, in Xe–Xe collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair of sNN=5.44TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of collision centrality over a wide pseudorapidity range of −3.5&lt;η&lt;5. The values of dNch/dη at mid-rapidity and Nchtot for central collisions, normalised to the number of nucleons participating in the collision (Npart) as a function of sNN follow the trends established in previous heavy-ion measurements. The same quantities are also found to increase as a function of Npart, and up …

Beauty production in pp collisions at s=2.76 TeV measured via semi-electronic decays

The ALICE Collaboration at the LHC reports measurement of the inclusive production cross section of electrons from semi-leptonic decays of beauty hadrons with rapidity |y|<0.8 and transverse momentum 1<pT<10 GeV/c, in pp collisions at s=2.76 TeV. Electrons not originating from semi-electronic decay of beauty hadrons are suppressed using the impact parameter of the corresponding tracks. The production cross section of beauty decay electrons is compared to the result obtained with an alternative method which uses the distribution of the azimuthal angle between heavy-flavour decay electrons and charged hadrons. Perturbative QCD predictions agree with the measured cross section within the exper…

Measurement of dielectron production in central Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. The first measurement of dielectron (e + e −) production in central (0 – 10 %) Pb – Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76TeV at the LHC is presented. The dielectron invariant-mass spectrum is compared to the expected contributions from hadron decays in the invariant-mass range 0 < mee < 3.5 GeV / c2. The ratio of data and the cocktail of hadronic contributions without vacuum ρ0 is measured in the invariant-mass range 0.15 < mee < 0.7 GeV / c2, w…

Observation of Direct-Photon Collective Flow inAu+AuCollisions atsNN=200  GeV

The second Fourier component v(2) of the azimuthal anisotropy with respect to the reaction plane is measured for direct photons at midrapidity and transverse momentum (p(T)) of 1-12 GeV/c in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. Previous measurements of this quantity for hadrons with p(T) 6 GeV/c a reduced anisotropy is interpreted in terms of a path-length dependence for parton energy loss. In this measurement with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider we find that for p(T) > 4 GeV/c the anisotropy for direct photons is consistent with zero, which is as expected if the dominant source of direct photons is initial hard scattering. However, in the p(T) < 4 GeV/c re…

Elliptic Flow in Pb-Pb Collisions at

We report a precise measurement of the J/ψ elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02  TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The J/ψ mesons are reconstructed at midrapidity (|y|<0.9) in the dielectron decay channel and at forward rapidity (2.5<y<4.0) in the dimuon channel, both down to zero transverse momentum. At forward rapidity, the elliptic flow v2 of the J/ψ is studied as a function of the transverse momentum and centrality. A positive v2 is observed in the transverse momentum range 2<pT<8  GeV/c in the three centrality classes studied and confirms with higher statistics our earlier results at sNN=2.76  TeV in semicentral collisions. At midrapidity, the J/ψ  v2 is investigated as …

Multi-strange baryon production in p Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

The multi-strange baryon yields in Pb--Pb collisions have been shown to exhibit an enhancement relative to pp reactions. In this work, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ production rates have been measured with the ALICE experiment as a function of transverse momentum, ${p_{\rm T}}$, in p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of ${\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The results cover the kinematic ranges 0.6 GeV/$c<{p_{\rm T}} <$7.2 GeV/$c$ and 0.8 GeV/$c<{p_{\rm T}}<$ 5 GeV/$c$, for $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ respectively, in the common rapidity interval -0.5 $<{y_{\rm CMS}}<$ 0. Multi-strange baryons have been identified by reconstructing their weak decays into charged particles. The ${p_{\rm T}}$ spectra are ana…

Centrality Dependence of the Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Pb-Pb Collisions atsNN=5.02  TeV

The pseudorapidity density of charged particles, dNch/dη, at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions has been measured at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of √sNN=5.02 TeV. For the 5% most central collisions, we measure a value of 1943 ± 54. The rise in dNch/dη as a function of √sNN p is steeper than that observed in proton-proton collisions and follows the trend established by measurements at lower energy. The increase of dNch/dη as a function of the average number of participant nucleons, ⟨Npart⟩, calculated in a Glauber model, is compared with the previous measurement at √sNN=2.76 TeV. A constant factor of about 1.2 describes the increase in dNch/dη from √sNN=2.76 to 5.02 TeV for all cen…

Measurement of quarkonium production at forward rapidity in \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\mathbf {pp}$$\end{document}pp collisions at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\mathbf {\sqrt{s}=7}~$$\end{document}s=7TeV

The inclusive production cross sections at forward rapidity of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathrm{J}/\psi }$$\end{document}J/ψ, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\psi (\mathrm{2S})}$$\end{document}ψ(2S), \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} …

Centrality dependence of charged jet production in p–Pb collisions at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$$\end{document}sNN = 5.02 TeV

Measurements of charged jet production as a function of centrality are presented for  p–Pb  collisions recorded at \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sqrt{s_\mathrm {NN}}= 5.02$$\end{document}sNN=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector. Centrality classes are determined via the energy deposit in neutron calorimeters at zero degree, close to the beam direction, to minimise dynamical biases of the selection. The corresponding number of participants or binary nucleon–nucleon collisions is determined based on…

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in sNN=2.76 TeV Pb–Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semicentral √sNN = 2.76 TeV Pb–Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as vch jet 2 . Jet finding is performed employing the anti-kT algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero vch jet 2 is observed in semi-central …

Determination of the event collision time with the ALICE detector at the LHC

The European physical journal / Plus 132(2), 99 (2017). doi:10.1140/epjp/i2017-11279-1

Measurements of |Vcb|, form factors and branching fractions in the decays → ℓ and → ℓ

Two samples of exclusive semileptonic decays, 579 B0 -> D*+l-νl events and 261 B0 -> D+l-νl events, are selected from approximately 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP. From the reconstructed differential decay rate of each sample, the product of the hadronic form factor F(ω) at zero recoil of the D(*)+ meson and the CKM matrix element Vcb are measured to be FD*+ (1) Vcb = (31.9 +/- 1.8stat +/- 1.9syst) × 10-3,FD+ (1) Vcb = (27.8 +/- 6.8stat +/- 6.5syst) × 10-3. The ratio of the form factorsFD+ (1) and FD*+ (1) is measured to beFD+ (1)/FD*+ (1) = 0.87 +/- 0.22stat +/- 0.21syst. A value of Vcb is extracted from the two samples, using theoretical constraints o…

Measurement of Z 0 -boson production at large rapidities in Pb–Pb collisions at

The production of Z0 bosons at large rapidities in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02TeV is reported. Z0 candidates are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel (Z0→μ+μ−), based on muons selected with pseudo-rapidity −4.0 20GeV/c. The invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor, RAA, are presented as a function of rapidity and collision centrality. The value of RAA for the 0–20% central Pb–Pb collisions is 0.67±0.11(stat.)±0.03(syst.)±0.06(corr. syst.), exhibiting a deviation of 2.6σ from unity. The results are well-described by calculations that include nuclear modifications of the parton distribution functions, while the predictions using vacuum PDFs deviate from data by 2.3σ in the 0…

Search for dark photons from neutral meson decays inp+pandd+Aucollisions atsNN=200 GeV

The standard model (SM) of particle physics is spectacularly successful, yet the measured value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment (g−2)μ deviates from SM calculations by 3.6σ. Several theoretical models attribute this to the existence of a “dark photon,” an additional U(1) gauge boson, which is weakly coupled to ordinary photons. The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has searched for a dark photon, U, in π0,η→γe+e− decays and obtained upper limits of O(2×10−6) on U−γ mixing at 90% C.L. for the mass range 30<mU<90 MeV/c2. Combined with other experimental limits, the remaining region in the U−γ mixing parameter space that can explain the (g−2)μ deviation from its SM…

Measurement of pion and proton response and longitudinal shower profiles up to 20 nuclear interaction lengths with the ATLAS Tile calorimeter

The response of pions and protons in the energy range of 20–180 GeV, produced at CERN's SPS H8 test-beam line in the ATLAS iron–scintillator Tile hadron calorimeter, has been measured. The test-beam configuration allowed the measurement of the longitudinal shower development for pions and protons up to 20 nuclear interaction lengths. It was found that pions penetrate deeper in the calorimeter than protons. However, protons induce showers that are wider laterally to the direction of the impinging particle. Including the measured total energy response, the pion-to-proton energy ratio and the resolution, all observations are consistent with a higher electromagnetic energy fraction in pion-indu…

The ALICE Collaboration

The production of mesons containing strange quarks (KS, φ) and both singly and doubly strange baryons ( , , and − + +) are measured at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at √ s = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at mid-rapidity for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields (〈dN/dy〉) of 0.184 ± 0.002(stat.) ± 0.006(syst.) for KS and 0.021 ± 0.004(stat.) ± 0.003(syst.) for φ. For baryons, we find 〈dN/dy〉 = 0.048 ± 0.001(stat.) ± 0.004(syst.) for , 0.047 ± 0.002(stat.) ± 0.005(syst.) for and 0.0101 ± 0.0…

Coherent ψ(2S) photo-production in ultra-peripheral Pb Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

We have performed the first measurement of the coherent ψ(2S) photo-production cross section in ultraperipheral Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC. This charmonium excited state is reconstructed via the ψ(2S) → l +l − and ψ(2S) → J/ψπ+π− decays, where the J/ψ decays into two leptons. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 22 μb−1. The cross section for coherent ψ(2S) production in the rapidity interval −0.9 < y < 0.9 is dσcoh ψ(2S)/dy = 0.83±0.19 stat+syst mb. The ψ(2S) to J/ψ coherent cross section ratio is 0.34+0.08 −0.07(stat + syst). The obtained results are compared to predictions from theoretical models.

Measurement of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV

The production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in minimum-bias p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The measurement covers the pT interval 0.5 < pT < 12 GeV/c and the rapidity range −1.065 < ycms < 0.135 in the centre-of-mass reference frame. The contribution of electrons from background sources was subtracted using an invariant mass approach. The nuclear modification factor RpPb was calculated by comparing the pT-differential invariant cross section in p–Pb collisions to a pp reference at the same centre-of-mass energy, which was obtained by interpolating measurements at √s = 2.76 TeV an…

Measurement of jet suppression in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

The transverse momentum(p(T)) spectrum and nuclear modification factor (R-AA) of reconstructed jets in 0-10% and 10-30% central Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV were measured. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-k(T) jet algorithm with a resolution parameter of R = 0.2 from charged and neutral particles, utilizing the ALICE tracking detectors and Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). The jet p(T) spectra are reported in the pseudorapidity interval of \eta(jet)\ 5 GeV/c to suppress jets constructed from the combinatorial background in Pb-Pb collisions. The leading charged particle requirement applied to jet spectra both in pp and Pb-Pb collisions had a negligible effect on the R-A…

Multiplicity dependence of charged pion, kaon, and (anti)proton production at large transverse momentum in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

The production of charged pions, kaons and (anti)protons has been measured at mid-rapidity ($-0.5 10$ GeV/$c$), the particle ratios are consistent with those reported for pp and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC energies. At intermediate $p_{\rm T}$ the (anti)proton $R_{\rm pPb}$ shows a Cronin-like enhancement, while pions and kaons show little or no nuclear modification. At high $p_{\rm T}$ the charged pion, kaon and (anti)proton $R_{\rm pPb}$ are consistent with unity within statistical and systematic uncertainties.

Measurement of jet-medium interactions via direct photon-hadron correlations in Au+Au and d+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV

We present direct photon-hadron correlations in 200 GeV/A Au+Au, d+Au, and p+p collisions, for direct photon pT from 5–12 GeV/c, collected by the PHENIX Collaboration in the years from 2006 to 2011. We observe no significant modification of jet fragmentation in d+Au collisions, indicating that cold nuclear matter effects are small or absent. Hadrons carrying a large fraction of the quark's momentum are suppressed in Au+Au compared to p+p and d+Au. As the momentum fraction decreases, the yield of hadrons in Au+Au increases to an excess over the yield in p+p collisions. The excess is at large angles and at low hadron pT and is most pronounced for hadrons associated with lower momentum direct …

Centrality dependence of low-momentum direct-photon production inAu+Aucollisions atsNN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured the centrality dependence of the direct photon yield from Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=200 GeV down to pT=0.4 GeV/c. Photons are detected via photon conversions to e+e− pairs and an improved technique is applied that minimizes the systematic uncertainties that usually limit direct photon measurements, in particular at low pT. We find an excess of direct photons above the Ncoll-scaled yield measured in p+p collisions. This excess yield is well described by an exponential distribution with an inverse slope of about 240MeV/c in the pT range 0.6–2.0 GeV/c. While the shape of the pT distribution is independent of centrality within the experimental uncert…

Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

State Committee of Science, World Federation of Scientists (WFS) and Swiss Fonds Kidagan, Armenia; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Chinese Ministry of Education (CMOE) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MSTC); Ministry of Education and Youth of the Czech Republic; Danish Natural Science Research Council, the Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish National Research Foundation; The European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme; Helsinki Inst…

Measurement of an Excess in the Yield ofJ/ψat Very LowpTin Pb–Pb Collisions atsNN=2.76  TeV

We report on the first measurement of an excess in the yield of J/ψ at very low transverse momentum (pT< 0.3 GeV/c) in peripheral hadronic Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV, performed by ALICE at the CERN LHC. Remarkably, the measured nuclear modification factor of J/ψ in the rapidity range 2.5< y< 4 reaches about 7 (2) in the pT range 0- 0.3 GeV/c in the 70-90% (50-70%) centrality class. The J/ψ production cross section associated with the observed excess is obtained under the hypothesis that coherent photoproduction of J/ψ is the underlying physics mechanism. If confirmed, the observation of J/ψ coherent photoproduction in Pb-Pb collisions at impact parameters smaller than twice the nuc…

Mechanical construction and installation of the ATLAS tile calorimeter

This paper summarises the mechanical construction andinstallation of the Tile Calorimeter for the ATLASexperiment at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN, Switzerland. The TileCalorimeter is a sampling calorimeter using scintillator as the sensitivedetector and steel as the absorber and covers the central region of the ATLASexperiment up to pseudorapidities ±1.7. The mechanical construction ofthe Tile Calorimeter occurred over a periodof about 10 years beginning in 1995 with the completionof the Technical Design Report and ending in 2006 with the installationof the final module in the ATLAS cavern. Duringthis period approximately 2600 metric tons of steel were transformedinto a laminated struc…

Production of inclusive ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

We report on the production of inclusive Y{hooktop}(1S) and Y{hooktop}(2S) in p-Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector at backward (-4.46<ycms<-2.96) and forward (2.03<ycms<3.53) rapidity down to zero transverse momentum. The production cross sections of the Y{hooktop}(1S) and Y{hooktop}(2S) are presented, as well as the nuclear modification factor and the ratio of the forward to backward yields of Y{hooktop}(1S). A suppression of the inclusive Y{hooktop}(1S) yield in p-Pb collisions with respect to the yield from pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions is observed at forward rapidity but not at backwar…

A measurement of the gluon splitting rate into bb̄ pairs in hadronic Z decays

Abstract A measurement of the fraction of hadronic Z decays in which a gluon splits into a b b pair, g b b , is presented using data collected by ALEPH from 1992 to 1995 at the Z resonance. The selection is based on four-jet events. Events are selected by means of topological cuts and a lifetime tag. The result is g b b =(2.77±0.42 (stat)±0.57 (syst))×10 −3 .

Energy dependence of the transverse momentum distributions of charged particles in pp collisions measured by ALICE

Differential cross sections of charged particles in inelastic pp collisions as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ have been measured at $\sqrt{s}=$ 0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV at the LHC. The $p_{\rm T}$ spectra are compared to NLO-pQCD calculations. Though the differential cross section for an individual $\sqrt{s}$ cannot be described by NLO-pQCD, the relative increase of cross section with $\sqrt{s}$ is in agreement with NLO-pQCD. Based on these measurements and observations, procedures are discussed to construct pp reference spectra at $\sqrt{s} =$ 2.76 and 5.02 TeV up to $p_{\rm T}$ = 50 GeV/$c$ as required for the calculation of the nuclear modification factor in nucleus-nucleus and proton-nucleus coll…

Measurement of visible cross sections in proton-lead collisions at √sNN= 5.02 TeV in van der Meer scans with the ALICE detector

In 2013, the Large Hadron Collider provided proton-lead and lead-proton collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV. Van der Meer scans were performed for both configurations of colliding beams, and the cross section was measured for two reference processes, based on particle detection by the T0 and V0 detectors, with pseudo-rapidity coverage $4.6<\eta< 4.9$, $-3.3<\eta<-3.0$ and $2.8<\eta< 5.1$, $-3.7<\eta<-1.7$, respectively. Given the asymmetric detector acceptance, the cross section was measured separately for the two configurations. The measured visible cross sections are used to calculate the integrated luminosity of the proton-lead and lead-…

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.

Correlated Event-by-Event Fluctuations of Flow Harmonics in Pb-Pb Collisions at sNN=2.76  TeV

We report the measurements of correlations between event-by-event fluctuations of amplitudes of anisotropic flow harmonics in nucleus-nucleus collisions, obtained for the first time using a new analysis method based on multiparticle cumulants in mixed harmonics. This novel method is robust against systematic biases originating from non-flow effects and by construction any dependence on symmetry planes is eliminated. We demonstrate that correlations of flow harmonics exhibit a better sensitivity to medium properties than the individual flow harmonics. The new measurements are performed in Pb-Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}=2.76$ TeV by the…

Particle identification in ALICE: a Bayesian approach

We present a Bayesian approach to particle identification (PID) within the ALICE experiment. The aim is to more effectively combine the particle identification capabilities of its various detectors. After a brief explanation of the adopted methodology and formalism, the performance of the Bayesian PID approach for charged pions, kaons and protons in the central barrel of ALICE is studied. PID is performed via measurements of specific energy loss ($\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x$) and time-of-flight. PID efficiencies and misidentification probabilities are extracted and compared with Monte Carlo simulations using high-purity samples of identified particles in the decay channels ${\rm K}^0_S \righta…

Centrality dependence of the nuclear modification factor of charged pions, kaons, and protons in Pb-Pb collisions atsNN=2.76TeV

Transverse momentum (pT) spectra of pions, kaons, and protons up to pT=20GeV/c have been measured in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76TeV using the ALICE detector for six different centrality classes covering 0%–80%. The proton-to-pion and the kaon-to-pion ratios both show a distinct peak at pT≈3GeV/c in central Pb-Pb collisions that decreases for more peripheral collisions. For pT>10GeV/c, the nuclear modification factor is found to be the same for all three particle species in each centrality interval within systematic uncertainties of 10%–20%. This suggests there is no direct interplay between the energy loss in the medium and the particle species composition in the hard core of the quenched…

J/ production as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density in p–Pb collisions at

We report measurements of the inclusive J/ψ yield and average transverse momentum as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density dNch/dη in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The observables are normalised to their corresponding averages in non-single diffractive events. An increase of the normalised J/ψ yield with normalised dNch/dη, measured at mid-rapidity, is observed at mid-rapidity and backward rapidity. At forward rapidity, a saturation of the relative yield is observed for high charged-particle multiplicities. The normalised average transverse momentum at forward and backward rapidities increases with multiplicity at low multiplicities and saturates beyo…

Determination of A(FB)(b) using jet charge measurements in Z decays

An improved measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry in Z --> b (b) over bar decays is presented, based on a sample of 4.1 million hadronic Z decays collected by ALEPH between 1991 and 1995. Data are analysed as a function of polar angle of the event axis and b purity. The event tagging efficiency and mean b-jet hemisphere charge are measured directly from data. From the measured forward-backward jet charge asymmetry, the b quark asymmetry at root s= m(Z) is determined to be: A(FB)(b) = 0.1017 +/- 0.0032(syst.) +/- 0.0032(syst.). In the context of the Standard Model this corresponds to a value of the effective weak mixing angle of sin(2) theta(W)(eff)= 0.23109 +/- 0.00096. (C) 1998 Pub…