Identified charged hadron production in pp and Pb-Pb collisions with ALICE at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports on the production of identified charged hadrons in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at the LHC, revealing insights into collective flow and parton energy loss in hot nuclear matter.

Contribution

It provides detailed measurements of hadron spectra, yields, and nuclear modification factors in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at LHC energies, advancing understanding of quark-gluon plasma properties.

Findings

Increased radial flow velocity in Pb-Pb compared to RHIC energies.

Suppression of high transverse momentum particles in central Pb-Pb collisions.

Spectral shapes and yields consistent with hydrodynamic models.

Abstract

Nuclear matter under extreme conditions can be investigated in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The measurement of transverse momentum distributions and yields of identified particles is a fundamental step in understanding collective and thermal properties of the matter produced in such collisions. The ALICE Experiment results on identified charged hadron production are presented for pp collisions at \sqrt{s} = 0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV and for Pb-Pb collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.76 TeV. Spectral shapes, production yields and nuclear modification factors are shown and compared to previous experiments and Monte Carlo predictions. The spectral shapes in Pb-Pb collisions indicate a strong increase of the radial flow velocity with respect to RHIC energies, which in hydrodynamic models is expected as a consequence of the increasing particle density. The observed suppression of high transverse momentum particles in central Pb-Pb collisions provides evidence for strong parton energy loss in the hot and dense medium.