Observation of flow angle and flow magnitude fluctuations in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

TL;DR

This paper presents the first measurements of flow angle and flow magnitude fluctuations in Pb-Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV, revealing their dependence on centrality and transverse momentum, and providing new insights into the initial state of heavy-ion collisions.

Contribution

First measurement of transverse momentum dependent flow angle and flow magnitude fluctuations using four-particle correlators in Pb-Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV.

Findings

Flow fluctuations are strongest in central collisions.

Fluctuations increase for $p_T > 2$ GeV/c.

Measurements are sensitive to initial collision conditions.

Abstract

This Letter reports on the first measurements of transverse momentum dependent flow angle $\Psi_n$ and flow magnitude $v_n$ fluctuations, determined using new four-particle correlators. The measurements are performed for various centralities in Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV with ALICE at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Both flow angle and flow magnitude fluctuations are observed in the presented centrality ranges and are strongest in the most central collisions and for a transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}>2$ GeV/$c$. Comparison with theoretical models, including iEBE-VISHNU, MUSIC, and AMPT, show that the measurements exhibit unique sensitivities to the initial state of heavy-ion collisions.