Results on light (anti)nuclei production in Pb–Pb collisions with ALICE at the LHC

Abstract

The high collision energies reached at the LHC lead to significant production yields of light (anti)nuclei in proton-proton, p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions. Light (anti)nuclei are identified using their specific energy loss (dE/dx), measured in the Time Projection Chamber, and their velocity using the Time-Of-Flight detector. The excellent tracking and particle identification capabilities of the ALICE experiment, as well as its low material budget, make this detector unique for measurements of these rarely produced particles. Results on (anti)deuteron, (anti)triton, (anti)3He and (anti) He production in Pb–Pb collisions at p sNN = 5.02 TeV, including their transverse momentum (pT) spectra, production yields and coalescence parameters BA, are presented. These results will be compared to the expectations of coalescence and statistical hadronization models to obtain information on the production mechanism of light (anti)nuclei in heavy-ion collisions. Furthermore, the first measurements of the d and 3He absorption cross section are shown.