First ALICE results from heavy-ion collisions at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper presents initial results from the ALICE experiment at the LHC, characterizing the hot, dense matter created in lead-lead collisions at 2.76 TeV, including measurements of particle multiplicity, flow, correlations, and suppression.

Contribution

First experimental characterization of the quark-gluon plasma properties in heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies using ALICE detector data.

Findings

High particle multiplicity observed

Evidence of collective flow patterns

Suppression of high-momentum particles

Abstract

The ALICE detector recorded Pb-Pb collisions at sqrtsNN = 2.76 TeV at the LHC in November-December 2010. We present the results of the measurements that provide a first characterization of the hot and dense state of strongly-interacting matter produced in heavy-ion collisions at these energies. In particular, we describe the measurements of the particle multiplicity, collective flow, Bose-Einstein correlations, high-momentum suppression, and their dependence on the collision centrality. These observables are related to the energy density, the size, the viscosity, and the opacity of the system. Finally, we give an outlook on the upcoming results, with emphasis on heavy flavour production.