Extending the ALICE strong-interaction studies to nuclei: measurement of proton-deuteron correlations in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV



Acharya, S, Adamová, D, Adler, A, Rinella, GA, Agnello, M, Agrawal, N, Ahammed, Z, Ahmad, S, Ahn, SU, Ahuja, I
et al (show 90 more authors) (2022) Extending the ALICE strong-interaction studies to nuclei: measurement of proton-deuteron correlations in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV. .

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Abstract

The large data sample of high-multiplicity pp collisions collected by ALICE allows for the precise measurement of the size of source producing primary hadrons, opening the doors to a study of the interaction of different hadron species using femtoscopy techniques. The momentum correlation between (anti)protons and (anti)deuterons measured in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with ALICE is studied here for the first time. The measured correlation function for ((equation presented))p-((equation presented))d pairs is compared with theoretical predictions obtained considering Coulomb and Coulomb plus strong interactions and employing the Lednický-Lyuboshitz model with scattering parameters extracted from traditional scattering experiments for the p-d system. The measured correlation function can not be reproduced by any of the obtained predictions. This deviation can to large extent be interpreted as a demonstration of the late formation time of (anti)deuterons in hadron-hadron collisions. This observation is key for the understanding of the production mechanism of light (anti)nuclei, which is an open issue in high-energy physics and has also important consequences for the study of antinuclei formation in the interstellar medium either from collisions triggered by high-energy cosmic rays or by dark matter decays.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Unspecified)
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 11 Oct 2022 13:04
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 20:37
Open Access URL: https://pos.sissa.it/398/391
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3165355