Latest results on light (anti)nuclei production in Pb-Pb collisions with ALICE at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports recent measurements of light (anti)nuclei production and flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV with ALICE, comparing results with theoretical models to understand their production mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on light nuclei yields and flow at LHC energies, testing coalescence and statistical models of production in heavy-ion collisions.

Findings

Light nuclei yields are consistent with coalescence and statistical models.

Flow measurements support late-stage production mechanisms.

Results constrain theoretical models of light nuclei formation.

Abstract

Recent results on the production of light nuclei, including deuterons, tritons, $^3$He, $^4$He and the corresponding antinuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV are presented and compared with theoretical predictions to provide insight into their production mechanisms in heavy-ion collisions. The large variety of measurements performed with the ALICE apparatus at different energies and collision systems allows us to constrain the models of the production mechanisms of light flavour baryon clusters, in particular those based on the coalescence and statistical hadronisation approaches. Furthermore, new measurements of the elliptic and triangular flow of deuteron and $^3$He produced in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV are presented and compared to the expectations from coalescence and hydrodynamic models. The measurement of the elliptic and triangular flow of light nuclei provides a powerful tool to give insight into their production mechanism and freeze-out properties at a late stage of the collision evolution.