Study of the neutral mesons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV in the ALICE experiment at LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports on the measurement of neutral meson production, specifically $b0$ and $b5$, in lead-lead collisions at 2.76 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC, providing insights into particle suppression and medium effects.

Contribution

It presents the first combined measurement of $b0$ and $b5$ meson yields and nuclear modification factors in Pb-Pb collisions at this energy, using multiple detection methods.

Findings

$b0$ meson $R_{AA}$ shows suppression in central collisions.

$b5$ meson production measured up to 22 GeV/$c$, enabling detailed cross section analysis.

Results compared with lower energy experiments to study energy dependence.

Abstract

The $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ meson production in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV is studied with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The $\pi^{0}$ invariant yields and nuclear modification factor $R_{\mbox{AA}}$ are presented here in six centrality classes. The results are a combined measurement using the Photon Conversion Method (PCM) and the PHOS detector, in the transverse momentum range 0.4 $< p_{\mbox{T}} <$ 12 GeV/$c$. The $\pi^{0}$ $R_{\mbox{AA}}$ is studied in different centrality classes and compared with results from experiments at lower energies, both as a function of transverse momentum. The $\eta$ meson production is studied using the PCM and the EMCal detector. The combination of the individual results will make possible the measurement of the $\eta$ differential invariant cross section as a function of transverse momentum from 1 to 22 GeV/$c$ in different centrality classes.