Tracking the baryon number with nuclear collisions
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73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Engineering topics
Bellwied, R.
Publications and source records attributed to Bellwied, R..
First Observation of Deuteron-Ξ Correlations at RHIC
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73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Large-scale real-time signal processing in physics experiments: the ALICE TPC FPGA pipeline
For LHC Run 3, the ALICE Time Projection Chamber was upgraded to operate in continuous readout mode. Interaction rates of up to 50 kHz in Pb-Pb collisions require real-time processing of more than 3 TB s -1 of raw detector data. This requirement is met by a custom FPGA-based processing pipeline that performs the complete front-end data treatment fully in-stream, including common-mode correction, pedestal subtraction, ion-tail filtering, zero suppression, and dense data packing. A central element of the design is a highly parallel common-mode correction algorithm operating directly on the streaming data. It robustly identifies signal-free readout channels on a time-bin basis and applies pad-dependent scaling to compensate for local variations in capacitive coupling in the GEM readout. In combination with pedestal subtraction and ion-tail filtering, this enables accurate baseline restoration under extreme high-occupancy conditions, preventing signal loss while efficiently suppressing noise prior to zero suppression. The pipeline operates continuously at the full detector bandwidth and reduces the raw input rate of approximately 3 TB s -1 to about 900 GBps for Pb-Pb collisions at the target interaction rate. Overall, it represents a large-scale FPGA-based real-time signal-processing implementation for high-energy physics detector readout.
Digital signal processing (DSP)β
Measurement of inclusive $J/Ο$ production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 54.4 GeV at STAR
This article presents measurements of inclusive J/Ο production at midrapidity (|y| < 1.0) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 54.4 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. A suppression of the J/Ο yield, quantified using the nuclear modification factors (R AA , R CP ), is observed with respect to the scaled production p + p in collisions. The dependence of R AA on collision centrality and J/Ο transverse momentum is measured with improved precision compared to previous measurements at 39 and 62.4 GeV, while the centrality dependence of R CP is measured and compared to the same results at 39, 62.4, and 200 GeV. In central collisions, no significant collision energy dependence of R AA is found within uncertainties for collision energies between 17.3 and 200 GeV. Two transport model calculations that include dissociation and regeneration contributions are consistent with the experimental results within uncertainties. Although no significant collision energy dependence of the J/Ο suppression in high energy heavy-ion collisions up to $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV is observed within uncertainties, the newly measured results at 54.4 GeV Au+Au collisions provide additional constraints on theoretical calculations of the hot medium evolution and cold nuclear matter effects.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Measuring spin correlation between quarks during QCD confinement
The vacuum is now understood to have a rich and complex structure, characterized by fluctuating energy fields and a condensate of virtual quarkβantiquark pairs. The spontaneous breaking of the approximate chiral symmetry, signalled by the nonvanishing quark condensate $\langle$$q\bar{q}$$\rangle$, is dynamically generated through topologically nontrivial gauge configurations such as instantons. The precise mechanism linking the chiral symmetry breaking to the mass generation associated with quark confinement remains a profound open question in quantum chromodynamics (QCD)βthe fundamental theory of strong interaction. High-energy protonβproton collisions could liberate virtual quarkβantiquark pairs from the vacuum that subsequently undergo confinement to form hadrons, whose properties could serve as probes into QCD confinement and the quark condensate. Here we report evidence of spin correlations in $Ξ\bar{Ξ}$ hyperon pairs inherited from spin-correlated strange quarkβantiquark virtual pairs. Measurements by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory reveal a relative polarization signal of (18 Β± 4)% that links the virtual spin-correlated quark pairs from the QCD vacuum to their final-state hadron counterparts. Crucially, this correlation vanishes when the hyperon pairs are widely separated in angle, consistent with the decoherence of the quantum system. Our findings provide a new experimental model for exploring the dynamics and interplay of quark confinement and entanglement.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Temperature measurement of Quark-Gluon plasma at different stages
In a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), the fundamental building blocks of matter, quarks and gluons, are under extreme conditions of temperature and density. A QGP could exist in the early stages of the Universe, and in various objects and events in the cosmos. The thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties of the QGP are described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and can be studied in heavy-ion collisions. Despite being a key thermodynamic parameter, the QGP temperature is still poorly known. Thermal lepton pairs (e + e β and ΞΌ + ΞΌ β ) are ideal penetrating probes of the true temperature of the emitting source, since their invariant-mass spectra suffer neither from strong final-state interactions nor from blue-shift effects due to rapid expansion. Here we measure the QGP temperature using thermal e+eβ production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The average temperature from the low-mass region (in-medium Ο 0 vector-meson dominant) is (2.01 Β± 0.23) Γ 10 12 K, consistent with the chemical freeze-out temperature from statistical models and the phase transition temperature from Lattice QCD. The average temperature from the intermediate mass region (above the Ο0 mass, QGP dominant) is significantly higher at (3.25 Β± 0.60) Γ 10 12 K. This work provides essential experimental thermodynamic measurements to map out the QCD phase diagram and understand the properties of matter under extreme conditions.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Semi-inclusive direct photon + jet and π 0 + jet correlations measured in π + π and central Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200GeV
The STAR experiment at RHIC reports new measurements of jet quenching based on the semi- inclusive distribution of charged-particle jets recoiling from direct photon (Ξ³ dir ) and neutral pion (Ο 0 ) triggers in pp and central Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV, for triggers in the range 9 < $E$$^{trig}_{T}$ < 20 GeV. The datasets have integrated luminosities of 3.9nb β1 for Au + Au and 23pb β1 for ππ collisions. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-π π algorithm with resolution parameters π = 0.2 and 0.5. The large uncorrelated jet background in central Au + Au collisions is corrected using a mixed-event approach, which enables precise charged-particle jet measurements at low transverse momentum π$^{ch}_{π,jet}$ and large π . Recoil-jet distributions are reported in the range π$^{ch}_{π,jet}$ < 25 GeV/π. Comparison of the distributions measured in ππ and Au + Au collisions reveals strong medium-induced jet yield suppression for π = 0.2 with markedly less suppression for π = 0.5. Comparison is also made to theoretical models incorporating jet quenching. Furthermore, these data provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying jet quenching and the angular dependence of medium-induced jet-energy transport and provide new constraints on modeling such effects.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Light nuclei femtoscopy and baryon interactions in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC
We report the measurements of proton-deuteron (π-π) and deuteron-deuteron (π-π) correlation functions in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 GeV using fixed-target mode with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). For the first time, the source size (π πΊ ), scattering length (π 0 ), and effective range (π 0 ) are extracted from the measured correlation functions with a simultaneous fit. The spin-averaged π 0 for π-π and π-π interactions are determined to be -5.28 Β± 0.11(stat.) Β± 0.82(syst.) fm and -2.62 Β± 0.02(stat.) Β±0.24(syst.) fm, respectively. The measured π-π interaction is consistent with theoretical calculations and low energy scattering experiment results, demonstrating the feasibility of extracting interaction parameters using the femtoscopy technique. The reasonable agreement between the experimental data and the calculations from the transport model indicates that deuteron production in these collisions is primarily governed by nucleon coalescence.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Design of the ECCE detector for the Electron Ion Collider
The EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment (ECCE) detector has been designed to address the full scope of the proposed Electron Ion Collider (EIC) physics program as presented by the National Academy of Science and provide a deeper understanding of the quark-gluon structure of matter. To accomplish this, the ECCE detector offers nearly acceptance and energy coverage along with excellent tracking and particle identification. The ECCE detector was designed to be built within the budget envelope set out by the EIC project while simultaneously managing cost and schedule risks. Finally, this detector concept has been selected to be the basis for the EIC project detector.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATIONβ
Measurement of beauty production via non-prompt charm hadrons in pβPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV
The production cross sections of D 0 , D + , and Ξ$^{+}_{c}$ hadrons originating from beauty-hadron decays (i.e. non-prompt) were measured for the first time at midrapidity in protonβlead (pβPb) collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Nuclear modification factors (R pPb ) of non-prompt D 0 , D + , and Ξ$^{+}_{c}$ are calculated as a function of the transverse momentum (p T ) to investigate the modification of the momentum spectra measured in pβPb collisions with respect to those measured in protonβproton (pp) collisions at the same energy. The R pPb measurements are compatible with unity and with the measurements in the prompt charm sector, and do not show a significant p T dependence. The p T -integrated cross sections and p T -integrated R pPb of non-prompt D 0 and D + mesons are also computed by extrapolating the visible cross sections down to p T = 0. The non-prompt D-meson R pPb integrated over p T is compatible with unity and with model calculations implementing modification of the parton distribution functions of nucleons bound in nuclei with respect to free nucleons. The non-prompt Ξ$^{+}_{c}$/D 0 and D + /D 0 production ratios are computed to investigate hadronisation mechanisms of beauty quarks into mesons and baryons. The measured ratios as a function of p T display a similar trend to that measured for charm hadrons in the same collision system.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ
Production of protons and light nuclei in Au +Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 GeV with the STAR detector
We report the systematic measurement of protons and light nuclei production in Au +Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 GeV by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The transverse momentum (π π ) spectra of protons (π) , deuterons (π) , tritons (π‘) , 3 He , and 4 He have been measured from midrapidity to target rapidity for different collision centralities. We present the rapidity and centrality dependence of particle yields (πβ’π/πβ’π¦), average transverse momentum (β¨π π β©), yield ratios (π/π, π‘/π, 3 He/π, 4 He/π), as well as the coalescence parameters (π΅ 2 ,π΅ 3 ). The 4β’π yields for various particles are determined by utilizing the measured rapidity distributions, πβ’π/πβ’π¦. Furthermore, we present the energy, centrality, and rapidity dependence of the compound yield ratios (π π Γπ π‘ /π$^{2}_{d}$) and compare them with various model calculations. Furthermore, the physics implications of these results on the production mechanism of light nuclei and the QCD phase structure are discussed.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Correlations of event activity with hard and soft processes in p + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV at the RHIC STAR experiment
With the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we characterize $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200GeV p + Au collisions by event activity (EA) measured within the pseudorapidity range Ξ· Ο΅[β5,β3.4] in the Au-going direction and report correlations between this EA and hard- and soft-scale particle production at midrapidity (Ξ· Ο΅[β1,1]). At the soft scale, charged particle production in low-EA p + Au collisions is comparable to that in p + p collisions and increases monotonically with increasing EA. At the hard scale, we report measurements of high transverse momentum (p T ) jets in events of different EAs. In contrast with the soft particle production, high-p T particle production and EA are found to be inversely related. Furthermore, to investigate whether this is a signal of jet quenching in high-EA events, we also report ratios of p T imbalance and azimuthal separation of dijets in high- and low-EA events. Within our measurement precision, no significant differences are observed, disfavoring the presence of jet quenching in the highest 30% EA p + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200GeV.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSβ
Measurement of beauty-quark production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV via non-prompt D mesons
The p T -diferential production cross sections of non-prompt D 0 , D + , and D$^+_s$ at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. The measurements are performed at midrapidity, |y| < 0.5, with the data sample collected by ALICE from 2016 to 2018. The results are in agreement with predictions from several perturbative QCD calculations. The fragmentation fraction of beauty quarks to strange mesons divided by the one to non-strange mesons, $f_s$/($f_u$ +$f_d$), is found to be 0.114 Β± 0.016 (stat.) Β± 0.006 (syst.) Β± 0.003 (BR) Β± 0.003 (extrap.). This value is compatible with previous measurements at lower centre-of-mass energies and in diferent collision systems in agreement with the assumption of universality of fragmentation functions. In addition, the dependence of the non-prompt D meson production on the centre of-mass energy is investigated by comparing the results obtained at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 and 13 TeV, showing a hardening of the non-prompt D-meson p T -diferential production cross section at higher $\sqrt{s}$. Finally, the $b\overline{b}$ production cross section per unit of rapidity at midrapidity is calculated from the non-prompt D 0 , D + , D$^+_s$, and $Ξ^+_c$ hadron measurements, obtaining dΟ/dy = 75.2 Β± 3.2 (stat.) Β± 5.2 (syst.)$^{+12.3}_{-3.2}$ (extrap.) Β΅b.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ
Investigating strangeness enhancement with multiplicity in pp collisions using angular correlations
A study of strange hadron production associated with hard scattering processes and with the underlying event is conducted to investigate the origin of the enhanced production of strange hadrons in small collision systems characterised by large charged-particle multiplicities. For this purpose, the production of the single-strange meson ${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ and the double-strange baryon Ξ Β± is measured, in each event, in the azimuthal direction of the highest-p T particle (βtriggerβ particle), related to hard scattering processes, and in the direction transverse to it in azimuth, associated with the underlying event, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV and $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The per-trigger yields of ${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ and Ξ Β± are dominated by the transverse-to-leading production (i.e., in the direction transverse to the trigger particle), whose contribution relative to the toward-leading production is observed to increase with the event charged-particle multiplicity. The transverse-to-leading and the toward-leading Ξ Β± /${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ yield ratios increase with the multiplicity of charged particles, suggesting that strangeness enhancement with multiplicity is associated with both hard scattering processes and the underlying event. The relative production of Ξ Β± with respect to ${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ is higher in transverse-to-leading processes over the whole multiplicity interval covered by the measurement. The ${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ and Ξ Β± per-trigger yields and yield ratios are compared with predictions of three different phenomenological models, namely Pythia8.2 with the Monash tune, Pythia8.2 with ropes and EPOS LHC. The comparison shows that none of them can quantitatively describe either the transverse-to-leading or the toward-leading yields of ${\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0$ and Ξ Β± .
hadron-hadron scatteringβ
Exploring the Strong Interaction of Three-Body Systems at the LHC
Deuterons are atomic nuclei composed of a neutron and a proton held together by the strong interaction. Unbound ensembles composed of a deuteron and a third nucleon have been investigated in the past using scattering experiments, and they constitute a fundamental reference in nuclear physics to constrain nuclear interactions and the properties of nuclei. In this work, K + -d and p-d femtoscopic correlations measured by the ALICE Collaboration in proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are presented. It is demonstrated that correlations in momentum space between deuterons and kaons or protons allow us to study three-hadron systems at distances comparable with the proton radius. The analysis of the K + -d correlation shows that the relative distances at which deuterons and protons or kaons are produced are around 2 fm. The analysis of the p-d correlation shows that only a full three-body calculation that accounts for the internal structure of the deuteron can explain the data. In particular, the sensitivity of the observable to the short-range part of the interaction is demonstrated. These results indicate that correlations involving light nuclei in pp collisions at the LHC will also provide access to any three-body system in the strange and charm sectors.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ
Studying strangeness and baryon production mechanisms through angular correlations between charged Ξ baryons and identified hadrons in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV
The angular correlations between charged Ξ baryons and associated identified hadrons (pions, kaons, protons, Ξ baryons, and Ξ baryons) are measured in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ALICE detector to give insight into the particle production mechanisms and balancing of quantum numbers on the microscopic level. In particular, the distribution of strangeness is investigated in the correlations between the doubly-strange Ξ baryon and mesons and baryons that contain a single strange quark, K and Ξ. As a reference, the results are compared to ΞΟ and Ξp correlations, where the associated mesons and baryons do not contain a strange valence quark. These measurements are expected to be sensitive to whether strangeness is produced through string breaking or in a thermal production scenario. Furthermore, the multiplicity dependence of the correlation functions is measured to look for the turn-on of additional particle production mechanisms with event activity. The results are compared to predictions from the string-breaking model P YTHIA 8, including tunes with baryon junctions and rope hadronisation enabled, the cluster hadronisation model H ERWIG 7, and the core-corona model E POS-LHC . While some aspects of the experimental data are described quantitatively or qualitatively by the Monte Carlo models, no model can match all features of the data. These results provide stringent constraints on the strangeness and baryon number production mechanisms in pp collisions.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ
Azimuthal anisotropy of jet particles in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{{\textrm{s}}_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV
The azimuthal anisotropy of particles associated with jets (jet particles) at midrapidity is measured for the first time in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{{\textrm{s}}_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV down to transverse momentum (p T ) of 0.5 GeV/c and 2 GeV/c, respectively, with ALICE. The results obtained in p-Pb collisions are based on a novel three-particle correlation technique. The azimuthal anisotropy coefficient v 2 in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions is positive, with a significance reaching 6.8Ο at low p T , and its magnitude is smaller than in semicentral Pb-Pb collisions. In contrast to the measurements in Pb-Pb collisions, the v 2 coefficient is also found independent of p T within uncertainties. Comparisons with the inclusive charged-particle v 2 and with AMPT calculations are discussed. The predictions suggest that parton interactions play an important role in generating a non-zero jet-particle v 2 in p-Pb collisions, even though they overestimate the reported measurement. These observations shed new insights on the understanding of the origin of the collective behaviour of jet particles in small systems such as p-Pb collisions, and provide significant stringent new constraints to models.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ
Measurements of Chemical Potentials in Pb-Pb Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV
This Letter presents the most precise measurement to date of the matter-antimatter imbalance at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Using the Statistical Hadronization framework, it is possible to obtain the value of the electric charge and baryon chemical potentials, ΞΌ Q = -0.18 Β± 0.90 MeV and ΞΌ B = 0.71 Β± 0.45 MeV, with unprecedented precision. A centrality-differential study of the antiparticle-to-particle yield ratios of charged pions, protons, Ξ© baryons, and light (hyper)nuclei is performed. These results indicate that the system created in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC is on average baryon-free and electrically neutral at midrapidity.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDSβ