Charged-hadron and identified-hadron ($K^\mathrm{0}_\mathrm{S}$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^\mathrm{-}$) yield measurements in photo-nuclear Pb+Pb and $p$+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV with ATLAS

Abstract

This paper presents the measurement of charged-hadron and identified-hadron ($K^\mathrm{0}_\mathrm{S}$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^\mathrm{-}$) yields in photo-nuclear collisions using 1.7 $\mathrm{nb^{-1}}$ of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV Pb+Pb data collected in 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Candidate photo-nuclear events are selected using a combination of tracking and calorimeter information, including the zero-degree calorimeter. The yields as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity are measured in these photo-nuclear collisions as a function of charged-particle multiplicity. These photo-nuclear results are compared with 0.1 $\mathrm{nb^{-1}}$ of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV $p$+Pb data collected in 2016 by ATLAS using similar charged-particle multiplicity selections. These photo-nuclear measurements shed light on potential quark-gluon plasma formation in photo-nuclear collisions via observables sensitive to radial flow, enhanced baryon-to-meson ratios, and strangeness enhancement. The results are also compared with the Monte Carlo DPMJET-III generator and hydrodynamic calculations to test whether such photo-nuclear collisions may produce small droplets of quark-gluon plasma that flow collectively.