Observation of partonic flow in proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions
Quantum Chromodynamics predicts a phase transition from hadronic matter to quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at high temperatures and energy densities, where quarks and gluons (partons) are no longer confined within hadrons. The QGP forms in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Anisotropic flow coefficien...
Enregistré dans:
| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Collectivité auteur: | |
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Langue: | anglais |
| Publié: |
20 March 2026
|
| In: |
Nature Communications
Year: 2026, Volume: 17, Pages: 1-14 |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-025-67795-1 |
| Accès en ligne: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67795-1 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67795-1 
|
| Notes sur l'auteur: | the ALICE Collaboration* |
| Résumé: | Quantum Chromodynamics predicts a phase transition from hadronic matter to quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at high temperatures and energy densities, where quarks and gluons (partons) are no longer confined within hadrons. The QGP forms in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Anisotropic flow coefficients, quantifying the azimuthal expansion of produced matter, probe QGP properties. Flow measurements in high-energy heavy-ion collisions show a distinctive grouping of anisotropic flow for baryons and mesons at intermediate transverse momentum - a feature associated with flow imparted at the quark level, confirming QGP existence. The observation of QGP-like features in proton-proton and proton-ion collisions has sparked debate about QGP formation in smaller systems. For the first time, we demonstrate the distinctive grouping of anisotropic flow for baryons and mesons in high-multiplicity proton-lead and proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These results are described by a model including hydrodynamic flow followed by hadron formation via quark coalescence, consistent with the formation of partonic flowing systems in these collisions. |
|---|---|
| Description: | Online veröffentlicht: 20. März 2026 *The ALICE Collaboration: S. Acharya, V. Anguelov, A. Berdnikova, L. Bergmann, A.G. Borquez Carcamo, I. Fokin, P. Glässel, N.A. Grunwald, M.W. Menzel, A. Nath, K. Reygers, R. Schicker, F. Schlepper, J.J. Seo, J. Stachel, S.F. Stiefelmaier, C.A. van Veen, B. Windelband, F. Zanone, B. Zhang [und sehr viele weitere Personen] Gesehen am 18.06.2026 |
| Description matérielle: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-025-67795-1 |