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Abstract Atomic nuclei are self-organized, many-body quantum systems bound by strong nuclear forces within femtometre-scale space. These complex systems manifest a variety of shapes^1–3, traditionally explored using non-invasive spectroscopic techniques at low energies^4,5. However, at these energies, their instantaneous shapes are obscured by long-timescale quantum fluctuations, making direct observation challenging. Here we introduce the collective-flow-assisted nuclear shape-imaging method, which images the nuclear global shape by colliding them at ultrarelativistic speeds and analysing the collective response of outgoing debris. This technique captures a collision-specific snapshot of the spatial matter distribution within the nuclei, which, through the hydrodynamic expansion, imprints patterns on the particle momentum distribution observed in detectors^6,7. We benchmark this method in collisions of ground-state uranium-238 nuclei, known for their elongated, axial-symmetric shape. Our findings show a large deformation with a slight deviation from axial symmetry in the nuclear ground state, aligning broadly with previous low-energy experiments. This approach offers a new method for imaging nuclear shapes, enhances our understanding of the initial conditions in high-energy collisions and addresses the important issue of nuclear structure evolution across energy scales. 

The first measurements of proton emission accompanied by neutron emission in the electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$nuclei in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The EMD protons and neutrons emitted at very forward rapidities are detected by the proton and neutron zero degree calorimeters of the ALICE experiment. The emission cross sections of zero, one, two, and three protons accompanied by at least one neutron were measured in ultraperipheral ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}\text{−}{}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$. The 0p and 3p cross sections are described by the RELDIS model within their measurement uncertainties, while the 1p and 2p cross sections are underestimated by the model by 17–25%. According to this model, these 0p, 1p, 2p, and 3p cross sections are associated, respectively, with the production of various isotopes of Pb, Tl, Hg, and Au in the EMD of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$. The cross sections of the emission of a single proton accompanied by the emission of one, two, or three neutrons in EMD were also measured. The data are significantly overestimated by the RELDIS model, which predicts that the (1p,1n), (1p,2n), and (1p,3n) cross sections are very similar to the cross sections for the production of the thallium isotopes ${}^{206,205,204}\mathrm{Tl}$. ©2025 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2025CERN 

Abstract The ALICE Collaboration at the CERN LHC has measured the inclusive production cross section of isolated photons at midrapidity as a function of the photon transverse momentum ($$p_{\textrm{T}}^{\gamma }$$ $p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }$), in Pb–Pb collisions in different centrality intervals, and in pp collisions, at centre-of-momentum energy per nucleon pair of$$\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$$ $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV. The photon transverse momentum range is between 10–14 and 40–140 GeV/$$c$$ $c$, depending on the collision system and on the Pb–Pb centrality class. The result extends to lower$$p_{\textrm{T}}^{\gamma }$$ $p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }$than previously published results by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the same collision energy. The covered pseudorapidity range is$$|\eta ^{\gamma } | <0.67$$ $|{\eta }^{\gamma }|<0.67$. The isolation selection is based on a charged particle isolation momentum threshold$$p_{\textrm{T}}^\mathrm{iso,~ch} = 1.5$$ $p_{\text{T}}^{\mathrm{iso},\mathrm{ch}}=1.5$ GeV/$$c$$ $c$within a cone of radii$$R=0.2$$ $R=0.2$and 0.4. The nuclear modification factor is calculated and found to be consistent with unity in all centrality classes, and also consistent with the HG-PYTHIA model, which describes the event selection and geometry biases that affect the centrality determination in peripheral Pb–Pb collisions. The measurement is compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and to the measurements of isolated photons and Z$$^{0}$$ $_{}^0$bosons from the CMS experiment, which are all found to be in agreement. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> Thep_T-differential cross section ofωmeson production in pp collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV at midrapidity (|y| <0.5) was measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC, covering an unprecedented transverse-momentum range of 1.6< p_T<50 GeV/c. The meson is reconstructed via theω→π⁺π⁻π⁰decay channel. The results are compared with various theoretical calculations: PYTHIA8.2 with the Monash 2013 tune overestimates the data by up to 50%, whereas good agreement is observed with Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) calculations incorporatingωfragmentation using a broken SU(3) model. Theω/π⁰ratio is presented and compared with theoretical calculations and the available measurements at lower collision energies. The presented data triples thep_Tranges of previously available measurements. A constant ratio ofC^ω/π0= 0.578 ± 0.006 (stat.) ± 0.013 (syst.) is found above a transverse momentum of 4 GeV/c, which is in agreement with previous findings at lower collision energies within the systematic and statistical uncertainties. 

In this Letter, the first evidence of the ${}_{\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{}^4\overline{\mathrm{He}}$antihypernucleus is presented, along with the first measurement at the LHC of the production of (anti)hypernuclei with mass number $A=4$, specifically $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}$and $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{He}$. In addition, the antiparticle-to-particle ratios for both hypernuclei ( ${}_{\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{}^4\overline{\mathrm{H}}/{}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}$and ${}_{\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{}^4\overline{\mathrm{He}}/{}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{He}$) are shown, which are sensitive to the baryochemical potential of the strongly interacting matter created in heavy-ion collisions. The results are obtained from a data sample of central Pb-Pb collisions, collected during the 2018 LHC data taking at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$. The yields measured for the average of the charge-conjugated states are found to be $[0.78\pm 0.19\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 0.17\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)]\times {10}^{-6}$for the $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}$and $[1.08\pm 0.34\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 0.20\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)]\times {10}^{-6}$for the $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{He}$, and the measured antiparticle-to-particle ratios are in agreement with unity. The presence of $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}$and $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{He}$excited states is expected to strongly enhance the production yield of these hypernuclei. The yield values exhibit a combined deviation of $3.3\sigma$from the theoretical ground-state-only expectation, while the inclusion of the excited states in the calculations leads to an agreement within $0.6\sigma$with the present measurements. Additionally, the measured $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}$and $\left(\mathrm{anti}\right){}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{He}$masses are compatible with the world-average values within the uncertainties. © 2025 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2025CERN 

A<sc>bstract</sc> Short-range correlations between charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of the relative azimuthal angle ∆φand the pseudorapidity separation ∆ηfor pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval |η|<0.9 and the transverse-momentum range 1< p_T<8 GeV/c. Near-side (|∆φ|<1.3) peak widths are extracted from a generalised Gaussian fitted over the correlations in full pseudorapidity separation (|∆η|<1.8), while the per-trigger associated near-side yields are extracted for the short-range correlations (|∆η|<1.3). Both are evaluated as a function of charged-particle multiplicity obtained by two different event activity estimators. The width of the near-side peak decreases with increasing multiplicity, and this trend is reproduced qualitatively by the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA 8, AMPT, and EPOS. However, the models overestimate the width in the low transverse-momentum region (p_T<3 GeV/c). The per-trigger associated near-side yield increases with increasing multiplicity. Although this trend is also captured qualitatively by the considered event generators, the yield is mostly overestimated by the models in the considered kinematic range. The measurement of the shape and yield of the short-range correlation peak can help us understand the interplay between jet fragmentation and event activity, quantify the narrowing trend of the near-side peak as a function of transverse momentum and multiplicity selections in pp collisions, and search for final-state jet modification in small collision systems. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> The production of (multi-)strange hadrons is measured at midrapidity in proton-proton collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV as a function of the local charged-particle multiplicity in the pseudorapidity interval |η|<0.5 and of the very-forward energy measured by the ALICE Zero-Degree Calorimeters. The latter provides information on the effective energy, i.e. the energy available for particle production in the collision once subtracted from the centre-of-mass energy. The yields of$$ {\textrm{K}}_{\textrm{S}}^0 $$ $K_S^0$,$$ \Lambda +\overline{\Lambda} $$ $\Lambda +\overline{\Lambda }$, and$$ {\Xi}^{-}+{\overline{\Xi}}^{+} $$ ${\Xi }^{-}+{\overline{\Xi }}^{+}$per charged-particle increase with the effective energy. In addition, this work exploits a multi-differential approach to decouple the roles of local multiplicity and effective energy in such an enhancement. The results presented in this article provide new insights into the interplay between global properties of the collision, such as the initial available energy in the event, and the locally produced final hadronic state, connected to the charged-particle multiplicity at midrapidity. Notably, a strong increase of strange baryon production with effective energy is observed for fixed charged-particle multiplicity at midrapidity. These results are discussed within the context of existing phenomenological models of hadronisation implemented in different tunes of the PYTHIA 8 event generator. 

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a phenomenon that arises from the QCD anomaly in the presence of an external magnetic field. The experimental search for its evidence has been one of the key goals of the physics program of the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. The STAR Collaboration has previously presented the results of a blind analysis of isobar collisions ( ${}_{44}{}^{96}\mathrm{Ru}+{}_{44}{}^{96}\mathrm{Ru}, {}_{40}{}^{96}\mathrm{Zr}+{}_{40}{}^{96}\mathrm{Zr}$) in the search for the CME. The isobar ratio ( $Y$) of CME-sensitive observable, charge separation scaled by elliptic anisotropy, is close to but systematically larger than the inverse multiplicity ratio, the naive background baseline. This indicates the potential existence of a CME signal and the presence of remaining nonflow background due to two- and three-particle correlations, which are different between the isobars. In this postblind analysis, we estimate the contributions from those nonflow correlations as a background baseline to $Y$, utilizing the isobar data as well as Heavy Ion Jet Interaction Generator simulations. This baseline is found consistent with the isobar ratio measurement, and an upper limit of 10% at 95% confidence level is extracted for the CME fraction in the charge separation measurement in isobar collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=200$GeV. Published by the American Physical Society2024