Exploring nuclear structure with multiparticle azimuthal correlations at the LHC


Acharya S., Agarwal A., Rinella G. A., Aglietta L., Agnello M., Agrawal N., ...More

PHYSICS LETTERS B, vol.869, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 869
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.physletb.2025.139855
  • Journal Name: PHYSICS LETTERS B
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, INSPEC, MathSciNet, zbMATH, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Details of the nuclear structure of Xe-129, such as the quadrupole deformation and the nuclear diffuseness, are studied by extensive measurements of anisotropic-flow-related observables in Xe-Xe collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair root S-NN = 5.44 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The results are compared with those from Pb-Pb collisions at root S-NN = 5.02 TeV for a baseline, given that the Pb-208 nucleus exhibits a very weak deformation. Furthermore, comprehensive comparisons are performed with a state-of-the-art hybrid model using IP-Glasma+MUSIC+UrQMD. It is found that among various IP-Glasma+MUSIC+UrQMD calculations with different values of nuclear parameters, the one using a nuclear diffuseness parameter of a(0) = 0.492 and a nuclear quadrupole deformation parameter of beta(2) = 0.207 provides a better description of the presented flow measurements. These studies represent the first systematic exploration of nuclear structure at TeV energies, utilizing a comprehensive set of anisotropic flow observables. The measurements serve as a critical experimental benchmark for rigorously testing the interplay between nuclear structure inputs and heavy-ion theoretical models.