Neutral meson production in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of neutral meson production in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at the LHC, revealing suppression patterns indicative of quark-gluon plasma effects.

Contribution

It provides detailed spectra and nuclear modification factors for $b0$ and $b5$ mesons using novel detection methods at LHC energies.

Findings

Strong suppression of $b0$ mesons in Pb-Pb collisions

Consistent production spectra across methods

Evidence of hot QCD medium effects

Abstract

The ALICE detector at the LHC studies $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ meson production by two complementary methods, using electromagnetic calorimeters and the central tracking system for converted photons. Production spectra of $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons were measured with ALICE in pp collisions at LHC energies at mid-rapidity in a wide transverse momentum range. The spectrum and the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$ of $\pi^0$ measured in Pb-Pb collisions at different centralities, show a clear pattern of strong suppression in a hot QCD medium with respect to pp collisions.