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The ALICE experiment: a journey through QCD

Acharya, S. ; Basu, S. LU orcid ; Christiansen, P. LU ; Matonoha, O. LU ; Nassirpour, A.F. LU orcid ; Ohlson, A. LU ; Silvermyr, D. LU orcid ; Staa, J. LU ; Vazquez Rueda, O. LU and Zurlo, N. (2024) In European Physical Journal C 84(8).
Abstract
The ALICE experiment was proposed in 1993, to study strongly-interacting matter at extreme energy densities and temperatures. This proposal entailed a comprehensive investigation of nuclear collisions at the LHC. Its physics programme initially focused on the determination of the properties of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a deconfined state of quarks and gluons, created in such collisions. The ALICE physics programme has been extended to cover a broader ensemble of observables related to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions. The experiment has studied Pb–Pb, Xe–Xe, p–Pb and pp collisions in the multi-TeV centre of mass energy range, during the Run 1–2 data-taking periods at the LHC (2009–2018). The aim of this... (More)
The ALICE experiment was proposed in 1993, to study strongly-interacting matter at extreme energy densities and temperatures. This proposal entailed a comprehensive investigation of nuclear collisions at the LHC. Its physics programme initially focused on the determination of the properties of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a deconfined state of quarks and gluons, created in such collisions. The ALICE physics programme has been extended to cover a broader ensemble of observables related to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions. The experiment has studied Pb–Pb, Xe–Xe, p–Pb and pp collisions in the multi-TeV centre of mass energy range, during the Run 1–2 data-taking periods at the LHC (2009–2018). The aim of this review is to summarise the key ALICE physics results in this endeavor, and to discuss their implications on the current understanding of the macroscopic and microscopic properties of strongly-interacting matter at the highest temperatures reached in the laboratory. It will review the latest findings on the properties of the QGP created by heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies, and describe the surprising QGP-like effects in pp and p–Pb collisions. Measurements of few-body QCD interactions, and their impact in unraveling the structure of hadrons and hadronic interactions, will be discussed. ALICE results relevant for physics topics outside the realm of QCD will also be touched upon. Finally, prospects for future measurements with the ALICE detector in the context of its planned upgrades will also be briefly described. © The Author(s) 2024. (Less)
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published
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keywords
Collisional plasmas, Collisionless plasmas, Elementary particle interactions, Hadrons, Photons, Plasma collision processes, Center-of-mass energies, Centre-of-mass energies, Energy density, Energy ranges, Nuclear collisions, Physics project, Property, Quantum chromodynamics, Quark-gluon plasma, Strong interaction, Heavy ions
in
European Physical Journal C
volume
84
issue
8
article number
813
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85201570997
ISSN
1434-6044
DOI
10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12935-y
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Number of authors = 1051 EID = 85201570997 Article no = 813 Affiliation = Acharya S., Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC, Clermont-Ferrand, France Affiliation = Zugravel S.C., INFN, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy Affiliation = Zurlo N., INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Pavia, Italy, Università di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
id
0e14fc83-bd41-4d62-aa6b-3602e4234f10
date added to LUP
2024-10-04 11:49:01
date last changed
2024-10-04 11:49:01
@article{0e14fc83-bd41-4d62-aa6b-3602e4234f10,
  abstract     = {{The ALICE experiment was proposed in 1993, to study strongly-interacting matter at extreme energy densities and temperatures. This proposal entailed a comprehensive investigation of nuclear collisions at the LHC. Its physics programme initially focused on the determination of the properties of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a deconfined state of quarks and gluons, created in such collisions. The ALICE physics programme has been extended to cover a broader ensemble of observables related to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions. The experiment has studied Pb–Pb, Xe–Xe, p–Pb and pp collisions in the multi-TeV centre of mass energy range, during the Run 1–2 data-taking periods at the LHC (2009–2018). The aim of this review is to summarise the key ALICE physics results in this endeavor, and to discuss their implications on the current understanding of the macroscopic and microscopic properties of strongly-interacting matter at the highest temperatures reached in the laboratory. It will review the latest findings on the properties of the QGP created by heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies, and describe the surprising QGP-like effects in pp and p–Pb collisions. Measurements of few-body QCD interactions, and their impact in unraveling the structure of hadrons and hadronic interactions, will be discussed. ALICE results relevant for physics topics outside the realm of QCD will also be touched upon. Finally, prospects for future measurements with the ALICE detector in the context of its planned upgrades will also be briefly described. © The Author(s) 2024.}},
  author       = {{Acharya, S. and Basu, S. and Christiansen, P. and Matonoha, O. and Nassirpour, A.F. and Ohlson, A. and Silvermyr, D. and Staa, J. and Vazquez Rueda, O. and Zurlo, N.}},
  issn         = {{1434-6044}},
  keywords     = {{Collisional plasmas; Collisionless plasmas; Elementary particle interactions; Hadrons; Photons; Plasma collision processes; Center-of-mass energies; Centre-of-mass energies; Energy density; Energy ranges; Nuclear collisions; Physics project; Property; Quantum chromodynamics; Quark-gluon plasma; Strong interaction; Heavy ions}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{European Physical Journal C}},
  title        = {{The ALICE experiment: a journey through QCD}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12935-y}},
  doi          = {{10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12935-y}},
  volume       = {{84}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}