A Large Ion Collider Experiment

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ALICE INDICO

update on - 17:10:12

ALICE Calendar

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ALICE is optimized to study the collisions of nuclei at the ultra-relativistic energies provided by the LHC. The aim is to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at the highest energy densities reached so far in the laboratory. In such conditions, an extreme phase of matter - called the quark-gluon plasma - is formed. Our universe is thought to have been in such a primordial state for the first few millionths of a second after the Big Bang, before quarks and gluons were bound together to form protons and neutrons. Recreating this primordial state of matter in the laboratory and understanding how it evolves will allow us to shed light on questions about how matter is organized and the mechanisms that confine quarks and gluons. For this purpose, we are carrying out a comprehensive study of the hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collisions of heavy nuclei (²⁰⁸Pb). ALICE is also studying proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions both as a comparison with nucleus-nucleus collisions and in their own right. In 2021, ALICE completed a significant upgrade of its detectors to further enhance its capabilities and continue its scientific journey at the LHC in Run 3 and 4, until the end of 2032. At the same time, upgrade plans are being made for ALICE 3, the next-generation experiment for LHC Runs 5 and 6.

Recent highlights

ALICE sees new sign of primordial plasma in proton collisions

Published in Nature Communications: ALICE takes a step further in addressing the question of whether a quark–gluon plasma can be formed in pp and p–Pb collisions.... Read more

Flavour dependence of jet structures in QGP

The ALICE collaboration reports the measurements of jet-like structures in the heavy-flavour sector of lead-lead collisions at a c.m. energy of 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair..... Read more

CERN/ALICE-CIAE Joint Lab launched

On 28 January, the inaugural meeting of the CERN/ALICE - China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) Joint Lab was held in Beijing Science and Technology Park. ....: Read more

Latest ALICE Submissions

Evidence of different $Λ_{\rm c}$-baryon and D-meson elliptic flow in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\mathbf{\sqrt{\textit{s}_{\rm NN}}}$ = 5.36 TeV with ALICE at the LHCThe ALICE collaboration reports the azimuthal-anisotropy coefficient $v_2$ of prompt D$^0$, D$^+$, D$^+_{\rm s}$ mesons and the first measurement of $v_2$ of prompt $Λ_{\rm c}$ baryons in semicentral Pb$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.36$ TeV. The D mesons and $Λ_{\rm c}$ baryons are reconstructed in their hadronic decays at midrapidity ($ \|y\| < ~0.8$) in the transverse-momentum interval $0.5 < ~ p_{\rm T} < ~ 24$ GeV/$c$. Similar $v_2$ values are measured for D$^0$ and D$^+$, while a hint of a difference ($2.6σ$) emerges between D$^0$ and D$^+_{\rm s}$ mesons in the $1 < ~ p_{\rm T} < ~ 5 $ GeV/$c$ interval. A larger $v_2$ for $Λ_{\rm c}$ baryons with respect to D$^0$ mesons is observed with $3.7σ$ significance for $4 < ~ p_{\rm T} < ~ 12$ GeV/$c$, providing evidence for the partonic origin of charm-hadron $v_2$ and hadron formation via quark coalescence. This interpretation is further supported by comparisons with theoretical calculations of charm-quark transport in a hydrodynamically expanding medium.	2603.18966
Measurement of the $\mathbf{B^0}$-meson production cross section in proton--proton collisions at $\mathbf{\sqrt{\textit{s}}=13.6}$ TeVThis article reports the measurement of the transverse-momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) differential production cross section of B$^0$ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13.6$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. For the first time, the B$^0$ production cross section is measured at midrapidity ($\|y\| < ~0.5$) down to $p_{\rm T}=1~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ at LHC energies. The B$^0$ mesons and their charge conjugates were reconstructed via the B$^{0}\to$D$^{-}π^+$ decay channel, followed by the D$^-\to$K$^+π^-π^-$ decay. The measured $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross section is described within uncertainties by state-of-the-art models based on perturbative quantum-chromodynamics calculations. Its rapidity dependence is also studied by computing the $p_{\rm T}$-differential ratios between the ALICE measurement and the one of B$^+$ mesons performed by the LHCb Collaboration at forward rapidity. The B$^0$ production cross section per unit of rapidity at midrapidity is ${\rm d}σ({\rm B^0})/{\rm d} y\|_{\|y\| < ~0.5} = 24.2 \pm 1.4~(\text{stat.}) \pm 2.6~(\text{syst.})_{-0.3}^{+0.2}~(\text{extrap.})~μ{\rm b}$.	2603.18904
$π$, K, and p production in high-multiplicity pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeVThis paper presents the measurement of $π^{\pm}$, K$^{\pm}$, and p($\bar{\text{p}}$) production in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV at midrapidity ($\|y\| < ~ 0.5$) using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The transverse-momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) spectra of these particles are reported for three high-multiplicity classes. The results show a mass- and multiplicity-dependent hardening of the $p_{\rm T}$ spectra and an enhancement of the p/$π$ ratio at intermediate $p_{\rm T}$. These features are similar to those observed in heavy-ion collisions, where quark-gluon plasma formation is expected. The new measurements have extended the highest average charged-particle multiplicity density per unit of pseudorapidity achieved in pp collisions, roughly a factor five higher than that in average inelastic pp collisions, thereby reducing the multiplicity gap between small and large collision systems. In addition, the results are further compared with previously published measurements and with model calculations obtained using distinct tunes of the PYTHIA 8 Monte Carlo generator, as well as with predictions from the EPOS4. The comparison of the $p_{\rm T}$-integrated K/$π$ and p/$π$ ratios across different collision systems and energies suggests that particle production scales with charged-particle multiplicity, rather than with collision energy or system size. While the PYTHIA 8 tunes and the EPOS4 model are able to reproduce some of these measurements, either quantitatively or qualitatively, none of them consistently describes all observed features of the data.	2603.13203
Measurement of correlations between elliptic flow and mean transverse momentum in pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHCMeasurements of the event-by-event correlation between elliptic flow ($v_2$) and the mean transverse momentum ($[p_{\rm T}]$) using the modified Pearson correlation coefficient $ρ(v_2^2,[p_{\rm T}])$ are reported in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, and in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. This analysis is based on the full LHC Run 2 dataset recorded by ALICE and is performed for the first time in small collision systems with the ALICE detector. In Pb-Pb collisions, the $ρ(v_2^2,[p_{\rm T}])$ measurement shows a non-monotonic dependence on charged particle multiplicity ($N_{\rm ch}$); it first decreases and then increases with an increase in multiplicity. The decreasing trends of $ρ(v_2^2,[p_{\rm T}])$ with increasing multiplicity are also observed in p-Pb and pp collisions for the presented multiplicity range. All three systems show consistent values of $ρ(v_2^2,[p_{\rm T}])$ for $N_{\rm ch} \lesssim 80$. These measurements are also compared with theoretical model calculations, including PYTHIA, where no collectivity is generated, as well as AMPT and IP-Glasma + MUSIC + UrQMD, which produce collective effects in small systems. These comparisons offer unique insights into the origin of collectivity in small systems. They improve the understanding of the initial geometry, size, and their correlations. The comparison also allows an investigation of the role of initial momentum correlations predicted by the Color Glass Condensate framework. The new measurements could not be explained by current state-of-the-art models, offering insights into the initial stage of collisions in small systems and also imposing strong constraints on the existing theoretical models. This will significantly advance our understanding of the collective phenomena observed in small systems at the LHC.	2603.13217
Deuteron coalescence probability in jets in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeVThis article presents the first measurement of the (anti)deuteron and antiproton transverse-momentum distributions, the deuteron coalescence parameter, and the ratio between the yields of deuteron and proton in and out of jets in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. Three regions are used to study the jet-correlated production: Toward, Away, and Transverse to the jet axis, which direction is approximated by the leading particle in the event with $p_{\rm T}^{\rm lead} > 5$ GeV/$c$. The jet contribution is obtained from the Toward region by subtracting the underlying event, which dominates the Transverse region. In p-Pb collisions, an enhancement of the coalescence parameter $B_{\rm 2}$ is observed in jets compared to the underlying event. The enhancement is larger than the one observed in a similar analysis already in pp collisions. The results are compared with predictions from PYTHIA 8.314 using the Angantyr model with a deuteron production model based on ordinary nuclear reactions. The model is able to qualitatively reproduce the large enhancement of the coalescence parameter in jets with respect to the out-of-jets one. The results are further compared in detail with similar ones from previous studies for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV.	2602.22880

See all submissions...

Upcoming Conferences (Next Week)

1st Pixel Platform Workshop

Rencontres de Moriond 2026: QCD and high energy interactions

SQM2026 - The 22nd International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter

See all conferences...

Jobs info

Job - W3 Professorship for Theoretical Physics of the Strong Interaction – University of Bonn (10-03-2026 )

ALICE Job - Postdoctoral position – ALICE Outer Tracker project (Vienna) (09-03-2026 )

ALICE Job - 2026 ALICE Breakthrough Prize PhD Grant (ALICE-BP-PhD-2026) (06-03-2026 )

Job - Postdoctoral or senior postdoctoral researcher CMS Tracker construction and MAPS R&D (03-03-2026 )

Diversity and Inclusivity in ALICE

The ALICE Collaboration embraces and values the diversity of its team members and colleagues. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all people regardless of their nationality/culture, profession, age/generation, family situation and gender, as well as individual differences such as but not limited to ethnic origin, sexual orientation, belief, disability, or opinions provided that they are consistent with the Organization’s values.