We study the influence of the nuclear equation of state (EOS) on collective observables-the directed (v1) and elliptic flow (v2) of nucleons and light clusters-in heavy-ion collisions at gigaelectronvolt energies energies using the parton-hadron-quantum-molecular dynamics (PHQMD) approach. A novel development in this work is the inclusion of a momentum-dependent nucleon potential in the PHQMD in addition to the static, density-dependent Skyrme interaction. This enables three distinct EOS scenarios: two static ("soft" and "hard," differing in compressibility) and a soft, momentum-dependent EOS calibrated to pA elastic scattering data. In PHQMD, clusters form during the entire heavy-ion collision via nucleon interactions and are identified using the minimum spanning tree (MST) algorithm, including additional deuteron production from hadronic kinetic reactions. We find a strong EOS sensitivity in proton and cluster rapidity and pT distributions: soft and soft momentum-dependent EOS yield similar results, markedly different from the hard EOS. Softening the EOS reduces proton yields at midrapidity while enhancing light-cluster production. The EOS also affects flow observables differently for nucleons and clusters. For protons, a soft momentum-dependent potential increases slightly the magnitude of v1 and v2 relative to the hard EOS, whereas cluster flows are nearly similar. The soft momentum-dependent EOS provides an overall good agreement with experimental data from HADES and FOPI Collaborations while the soft EOS is not in line with the data. A scaling of v2 with cluster mass number A is observed at midrapidity for low pT , which breaks at higher pT . Finally, we examine the sensitivity of flow observables to deuteron production mechanisms. Deuterons formed via MST clustering exhibit different flow patterns from those produced by coalescence at freeze-out, indicating that flow harmonics may help discriminate between cluster formation scenarios.

First information on the time-like electromagnetic structure of baryons in the second resonance region has been obtained from measurements of dielectron (e+ e-) invariant-mass and angular distributions in the quasi-free reaction $\pi-$ p $\rightarrow$ n e+ e- at $\sqrt{s_{\pi p}}$ = 1.49 GeV with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI using the pion beam impinging on a CH$_2$ target. We find a total cross section $\sigma$ = 2.97 $\pm$ 0.07data $\pm$ 0.21acc $\pm$ 0.31Zeff $\mu$b. In complement to the analysis of the inclusive e+ e- channel, this data set provides a crucial test of the description of baryon time-like transitions. Approaches based on a Vector Meson Dominance amplitude containing direct photon and vector meson ($\rho$) couplings to the baryon provide a satisfactory agreement with the data. A good description is also obtained by electromagnetic time-like baryon transition form factors in a covariant spectator-quark model, pointing to the dominance of meson-cloud effects. The dielectron angular distributions exhibit the contributions of virtual photons ($\gamma^*$) with longitudinal polarization, in contrast to real photons. The virtual photon angular dependence supports the dominance of J=3/2, I=1/2 contributions observed in both the $\gamma^*$n and the $\pi \pi$n channels.

Today’s accelerator facilities used for studies of relativistic heavy-ion collisions cover an energy range over three orders of magnitude, from a few GeV up to a few TeV in center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair ( √(s_NN) ). We present a systematic overview of hadron emission in heavy-ion collisions across this entire energy range. The presented energy excitation functions of the approximated baryon and meson yields at mid-rapidity reflect the interplay between baryon stopping and particle production, both of which evolve continuously with energy. At low energies (e.g., SIS18, AGS), strong nuclear stopping leads to high net-baryon densities at mid-rapidity and to the abundant formation of nuclear clusters. With increasing √(s_NN) , the relative baryon stopping power decreases, and meson production becomes dominant. The inelasticity, i.e., the fraction of the initial kinetic energy available converted in inelastic reactions into particle production and dynamics, is found to rise rapidly at low energies and then levels off at values around 0.7 - 0.8 . While at low energies up to ∼ 10 GeV this energy seems to be shared by equal amount between the production of new particles and the dynamics of the system, as well as radiation, the latter part starts to dominate at higher energies.

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) is a heavy-ion experiment, currently under construction, at the Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany. It aims to explore the QCD phase diagram at high baryon density (µ B) using the SIS-100 accelerator at FAIR. The Silicon Tracking System (STS) is the main detector for tracking and momentum determination. A scaled-down prototype of various detector systems, including mini STS (mSTS), is being meticulously tested in the mini CBM (mCBM) experiment at the existing SIS-18 accelerator at GSI, Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt. This experiment seeks to comprehensively assess both hardware and software components, ensuring their efficacy in online readout, processing, and analyzing the intricate topological data generated by real events detected by the detector subsystems. The recent development provides a facility to convert the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) based geometry model to Geometry Description Markup Language (GDML), an XML-based format. The representation of the solids extracted from a CAD toolkit typically consists of triangular or quadrilateral facets. The GDML file is then used in ROOT and GEANT4 using TGDMLParser and G4GDMLParser respectively to read the information of geometry volumes and to create different volume assemblies to prepare the simulation geometry to be used in the simulation. This report presents a comparative analysis of simulation studies using two distinct representations of the mSTS geometry: one employing simplified primitive solids and the other utilizing tessellated solid-based geometry, including the run-time, secondary particle production, and z-vertex of the secondary particles.

We investigate light cluster and anti-cluster production in heavy-ion collisions from SIS to RHIC energies within the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular Dynamics (PHQMD) microscopic transport approach which propagates (anti-)baryons using n-body QMD dynamics. In PHQMD the clusters are formed dynamically by potential interactions between baryons - and recognized by the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) algorithm - as well as by kinetic reactions in case of deuterons. We present the novel PHQMD results for different observables such as excitation functions of the multiplicity of deuterons, anti-deuterons and tritons, as well as their transverse momentum spectra. Moreover, we investigate the system size dependence of proton and deuteron production in p+A collisions and show the PHQMD results for p+A collisions (A = Be, Al, Cu, Au) at 14 AGeV/c, as well as for asymmetric Au+A collisions (A = Al, Cu, Pb) at a bombarding energy of about 10 AGeV.

Inclusive e$^+$e$^-$ production has been studied with HADES in $\pi^-$ + p, $\pi^-$ + C and $\pi^- + \mathrm{CH}_2$ reactions, using the GSI pion beam at $\sqrt{s_{\pi p}}$ = 1.49 GeV. Invariant mass and transverse momentum distributions have been measured and reveal contributions from Dalitz decays of $\pi^0$, $\eta$ mesons and baryon resonances. The transverse momentum distributions are very sensitive to the underlying kinematics of the various processes. The baryon contribution exhibits a deviation up to a factor seven from the QED reference expected for the dielectron decay of a hypothetical point-like baryon with the production cross section constrained from the inverse $\gamma$ n$\rightarrow \pi^-$ p reaction. The enhancement is attributed to a strong four-momentum squared dependence of the time-like electromagnetic transition form factors as suggested by Vector Meson Dominance (VMD). Two versions of the VMD, that differ in the photon-baryon coupling, have been applied in simulations and compared to data. VMD1 (or two-component VMD) assumes a coupling via the $\rho$ meson and a direct coupling of the photon, while in VMD2 (or strict VMD) the coupling is only mediated via the $\rho$ meson. The VMD2 model, frequently used in transport calculations for dilepton decays, is found to overestimate the measured dielectron yields, while a good description of the data can be obtained with the VMD1 model assuming no phase difference between the two amplitudes. Similar descriptions have also been obtained using a time-like baryon transition form factor model where the pion cloud plays the major role.

The study of the nuclear equation-of-state (EoS) is a one of the primary goals of experimental and theoretical heavy-ion physics. The comparison of recent high statistics data from the STAR Collaboration with transport models provides a unique possibility to address this topic in a yet unexplored energy domain. Employing the microscopic N-body Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular Dynamics (PHQMD) transport approach, which allows to describe the propagation and interactions of hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom including cluster and hyper-nucleus formation and dynamics, we investigate the influence of different EoS on bulk observables, the multiplicity, p_T and rapidity distributions of protons, Λs and clusters up to A=4 as well as their influence on the collective flow. We explore three different EoS: two static EoS, dubbed 'soft' and 'hard', which differ in the compressibility modulus, as well as a soft momentum dependent EoS. We find that a soft momentum dependent EoS reproduces most baryon and cluster observables, including the flow observables, quantitatively, however, hard EOS show a similar trend.

The production yields of antideuterons and antiprotons are measured in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, as a function of transverse momentum (p(T)) and rapidity (y), for the first time rapidity-differentially up to vertical bar y vertical bar = 0.7. The measured spectra are used to study the p(T) and rapidity dependence of the coalescence parameter B-2, which quantifies the coalescence probability of antideuterons. The p(T) and rapidity dependence of the obtained B-2 is extrapolated for p(T) > 1.7 GeV/c and vertical bar y vertical bar > 0.7 using the phenomenological antideuteron production model implemented in PYTHIA 8.3 as well as a baryon coalescence afterburner model based on EPOS 3. Such measurements are of interest to the astrophysics community, since they can be used for the calculation of the flux of antinuclei from cosmic rays, in combination with coalescence models.

We investigate the influence of the equation-of-state (EoS) of strongly interacting matter created in heavy-ion collisions on the light cluster and hypernuclei production within the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular Dynamics (PHQMD) microscopic transport approach. In earlier PHQMD calculations, nucleon interactions were modeled using a static, density-dependent potential corresponding to the soft and hard equation-of-state. In this study, we incorporate a momentum-dependent potential for the baryon-baryon interaction, derived from the soft EoS. We study the influence of momentum dependent potential on light cluster production.

The first measurement of HΛ3 and H‾Λ‾3 differential production with respect to transverse momentum and centrality in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV is presented. The HΛ3 has been reconstructed via its two-charged-body decay channel, i.e., HΛ3→3He+π−. A Blast-Wave model fit of the pT-differential spectra of all nuclear species measured by the ALICE collaboration suggests that the HΛ3 kinetic freeze-out surface is consistent with that of other nuclei. The ratio between the integrated yields of HΛ3 and He3 is compared to predictions from the statistical hadronisation model and the coalescence model, with the latter being favoured by the presented measurements.

This study explores the dynamical formation of deuterons in heavy- ion collisions using the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular Dynamics (PHQMD) approach. Two production mechanisms are investigated: "kinetic" production via "catalytic" reactions and "potential" interactions from nucleon attractive forces. Our analysis thoroughly examines all isospin channels for various reactions and considers deuteron finite-size properties. Results show that accounting for deuteron quantum properties significantly reduces the kinetic contribution in dense medium typical of heavy-ion collisions. Furthermore, by identifying potential deuterons with an advanced Minimum Spanning Tree (aMST) method, we obtain a satisfactory agreement with available experimental data.

The formation of weakly bound clusters and hypernuclei in the hot and dense environment at midrapidity is a surprising phenomenon observed experimentally in heavy-ion collisions, spanning from low SIS to ultra-relativistic LHC energies. This occurrence, often referred to as the ’ice in a fire’ puzzle, has prompted the exploration of three distinct approaches to elucidate cluster formation: the potential mechanism, involving cluster formation throughout the entire heavy-ion collision via potential interactions between nucleons; the kinetic mechanism, entailing deuteron production through catalytic hadronic reactions; and coalescence at kinetic freeze-out. In this context, we discuss the observables sensitive to the mechanism of cluster production, utilizing a microscopic transport Parton-Hadron-Quantum Molecular (PHQMD) approach.

Abstract 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 $$ \sqrt{{\textrm{s}}_{\textrm{NN}}} $$ s NN = 5.02 TeV down to transverse momentum (pT) 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 v2 in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions is positive, with a significance reaching 6.8σ at low pT, and its magnitude is smaller than in semicentral Pb-Pb collisions. In contrast to the measurements in Pb-Pb collisions, the v2 coefficient is also found independent of pT within uncertainties. Comparisons with the inclusive charged-particle v2 and with AMPT calculations are discussed. The predictions suggest that parton interactions play an important role in generating a non-zero jet-particle v2 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.

The nuclear equation of state (EOS) is at the center of numerous theoretical and experimental efforts in nuclear physics. With advances in microscopic theories for nuclear interactions, the availability of experiments probing nuclear matter under conditions not reached before, endeavors to develop sophisticated and reliable transport simulations to interpret these experiments, and the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, the next decade will bring new opportunities for determining the nuclear matter EOS, elucidating its dependence on density, temperature, and isospin asymmetry. Among controlled terrestrial experiments, collisions of heavy nuclei at intermediate beam energies (from a few tens of MeV/nucleon to about 25 GeV/nucleon in the fixed-target frame) probe the widest ranges of baryon density and temperature, enabling studies of nuclear matter from a few tenths to about 5 times the nuclear saturation density and for temperatures from a few to well above a hundred MeV, respectively. Collisions of neutron-rich isotopes further bring the opportunity to probe effects due to the isospin asymmetry. However, capitalizing on the enormous scientific effort aimed at uncovering the dense nuclear matter EOS, both at RHIC and at FRIB as well as at other international facilities, depends on the continued development of state-of-the-art hadronic transport simulations. This white paper highlights the essential role that heavy-ion collision experiments and hadronic transport simulations play in understanding strong interactions in dense nuclear matter, with an emphasis on how these efforts can be used together with microscopic approaches and neutron star studies to uncover the nuclear EOS.

The two-particle momentum correlation functions between charm mesons (D*± and D±) and charged light-flavor mesons (π± and K±) in all charge combinations are measured for the first time by the ALICE Collaboration in high-multiplicity proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV. For DK and D*K pairs, the experimental results are in agreement with theoretical predictions of the residual strong interaction based on quantum chromodynamics calculations on the lattice and chiral effective field theory. In the case of Dπ and D*π pairs, tension between the calculations including strong interactions and the measurement is observed. For all particle pairs, the data can be adequately described by Coulomb interaction only, indicating a shallow interaction between charm and light-flavor mesons. Finally, the scattering lengths governing the residual strong interaction of the Dπ and D*π systems are determined by fitting the experimental correlation functions with a model that employs a Gaussian potential. The extracted values are small and compatible with zero. © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration 2024 CERN

A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) has been conceived and constructed as a heavy-ion experiment at the LHC. During LHC Runs 1 and 2, it has produced a wide range of physics results using all collision systems available at the LHC. In order to best exploit new physics opportunities opening up with the upgraded LHC and new detector technologies, the experiment has undergone a major upgrade during the LHC Long Shutdown 2 (2019–2022). This comprises the move to continuous readout, the complete overhaul of core detectors, as well as a new online event processing farm with a redesigned online-offline software framework. These improvements will allow to record Pb-Pb collisions at rates up to 50 kHz, while ensuring sensitivity for signals without a triggerable signature.

Recent measurements of charm-baryon production in hadronic collisions have questioned the universality of charm-quark fragmentation across different collision systems. In this work the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is probed, by presenting the first measurement of the longitudinal jet momentum fraction carried by Λc+ baryons, z∥ch, in hadronic collisions. The results are obtained in proton-proton (pp) collisions at s=13 TeV at the LHC, with Λc+ baryons and charged (track-based) jets reconstructed in the transverse momentum intervals of 3≤pTΛc+<15 GeV/c and 7≤pTjet ch<15 GeV/c, respectively. The z∥ch distribution is compared to a measurement of D0-tagged charged jets in pp collisions as well as to 8 simulations. The data hints that the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is softer with respect to charm mesons, in the measured kinematic interval, as predicted by hadronization models which include color correlations beyond leading-color in the string formation. © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration 2024 CERN

Abstract The total charm-quark production cross section per unit of rapidity $$\textrm{d}\sigma ({{\textrm{c}}\overline{\textrm{c}}})/\textrm{d}y$$ d σ ( c c ¯ ) / d y , and the fragmentation fractions of charm quarks to different charm-hadron species $$f(\textrm{c}\rightarrow {\textrm{h}}_{\textrm{c}})$$ f ( c → h c ) , are measured for the first time in p–Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{s_\textrm{NN}} = 5.02~\text {Te}\hspace{-1.00006pt}\textrm{V} $$ s NN = 5.02 Te V at midrapidity ( $$-0.96 - 0.96 < y < 0.04 in the centre-of-mass frame) using data collected by ALICE at the CERN LHC. The results are obtained based on all the available measurements of prompt production of ground-state charm-hadron species: $$\textrm{D}^{0}$$ D 0 , $$\textrm{D}^{+}$$ D + , $$\textrm{D}_\textrm{s}^{+}$$ D s + , and $$\mathrm {J/\psi }$$ J / ψ mesons, and $$\Lambda _\textrm{c}^{+}$$ Λ c + and $$\Xi _\textrm{c}^{0}$$ Ξ c 0 baryons. The resulting cross section is $$ \textrm{d}\sigma ({{\textrm{c}}\overline{\textrm{c}}})/\textrm{d}y =219.6 \pm 6.3\;(\mathrm {stat.}) {\;}_{-11.8}^{+10.5}\;(\mathrm {syst.}) {\;}_{-2.9}^{+8.3}\;(\mathrm {extr.})\pm 5.4\;(\textrm{BR})\pm 4.6\;(\mathrm {lumi.}) \pm 19.5\;(\text {rapidity shape})+15.0\;(\Omega _\textrm{c}^{0})\;\textrm{mb} $$ d σ ( c c ¯ ) / d y = 219.6 ± 6.3 ( stat . ) - 11.8 + 10.5 ( syst . ) - 2.9 + 8.3 ( extr . ) ± 5.4 ( BR ) ± 4.6 ( lumi . ) ± 19.5 ( rapidity shape ) + 15.0 ( Ω c 0 ) mb , which is consistent with a binary scaling of pQCD calculations from pp collisions. The measured fragmentation fractions are compatible with those measured in pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 5.02$$ s = 5.02 and 13 TeV, showing an increase in the relative production rates of charm baryons with respect to charm mesons in pp and p–Pb collisions compared with $$\mathrm {e^{+}e^{-}}$$ e + e - and $$\mathrm {e^{-}p}$$ e - p collisions. The $$p_\textrm{T}$$ p T -integrated nuclear modification factor of charm quarks, $$R_\textrm{pPb}({\textrm{c}}\overline{\textrm{c}})= 0.91 \pm 0.04\;\mathrm{(stat.)} ^{+0.08}_{-0.09}\;\mathrm{(syst.)} ^{+0.05}_{-0.03}\;\mathrm{(extr.)} \pm 0.03\;\mathrm{(lumi.)}$$ R pPb ( c c ¯ ) = 0.91 ± 0.04 ( stat . ) - 0.09 + 0.08 ( syst . ) - 0.03 + 0.05 ( extr . ) ± 0.03 ( lumi . ) , is found to be consistent with unity and with theoretical predictions including nuclear modifications of the parton distribution functions.

Collective behavior has been observed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions for several decades. Collectivity is driven by the high particle multiplicities that are produced in these collisions. At the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), features of collectivity have also been seen in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions that can attain particle multiplicities comparable to peripheral Pb-Pb collisions. One of the possible signatures of collective behavior is the decrease of femtoscopic radii extracted from pion and kaon pairs emitted from highmultiplicity collisions with increasing pair transverse momentum. This decrease can be described in terms of an approximate transverse mass scaling. In the present work, femtoscopic analyses are carried out by the ALICE Collaboration on charged pion and kaon pairs produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV from the LHC to study possible collectivity in pp collisions. The event-shape analysis method based on transverse sphericity is used to select for spherical versus jetlike events, and the effects of this selection on the femtoscopic radii for both charged pion and kaon pairs are studied. This is the first time this selection method has been applied to charged kaon pairs. An approximate transverse-mass scaling of the radii is found in all multiplicity ranges studied when the difference in the Lorentz boost for pions and kaons is taken into account. This observation does not support the hypothesis of collective expansion of hot and dense matter that should only occur in high-multiplicity events. A possible alternate explanation of the present results is based on a scenario of common emission conditions for pions and kaons in pp collisions for the multiplicity ranges studied.

Long- and short-range correlations for pairs of charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at √(s) = 13 TeV and p–Pb collisions at √(s_NN) = 5.02 TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle ∆φ and pseudorapidity separation ∆η for pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 0.9 and the transverse-momentum interval 1 < pT < 4 GeV/c. Flow coefficients are extracted for the long-range correlations (1.6 < |∆η| < 1.8) in various high-multiplicity event classes using the low-multiplicity template fit method. The method is used to subtract the enhanced yield of away-side jet fragments in high-multiplicity events. These results show decreasing flow signals toward lower multiplicity events. Furthermore, the flow coefficients for events with hard probes, such as jets or leading particles, do not exhibit any significant changes compared to those obtained from high-multiplicity events without any specific event selection criteria. The results are compared with hydrodynamic-model calculations, and it is found that a better understanding of the initial conditions is necessary to describe the results, particularly for low-multiplicity events.