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Abstract ALICE is a large experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Located 52 meters underground, its detectors are suitable to measure muons produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the atmosphere. In this paper, the studies of the cosmic muons registered by ALICE during Run 2 (2015–2018) are described.The analysis is limited to multimuon events defined as events with more than four detected muons (N_μ> 4) and in the zenith angle range 0° < θ < 50°. The results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations using three of the main hadronic interaction models describing the air shower development in the atmosphere: QGSJET-II-04, EPOS-LHC, and SIBYLL 2.3d.The interval of the primary cosmic-ray energy involved in the measuredmuon multiplicity distribution is about4 × 10¹⁵<E_prim< 6 × 10¹⁶eV.In this interval none of the three models is able to describe precisely the trend of the composition of cosmic rays as the energy increases. However,QGSJET-II-04 is found to be the only model capable of reproducing reasonably well the muon multiplicity distribution, assuming a heavy composition of the primary cosmic raysover the whole energy range, while SIBYLL 2.3d and EPOS-LHC underpredict thenumber of muons in a large interval of multiplicity by more than 20% and 30%, respectively.The rate of high muon multiplicity events (N_μ> 100) obtainedwith QGSJET-II-04 and SIBYLL 2.3d is compatible with the data, while EPOS-LHC produces a significantly lower rate (55% of the measured rate). For both QGSJET-II-04 and SIBYLL 2.3d, the rate is close to the data when the composition is assumed to be dominated by heavy elements, an outcome compatible with the average energy E_prim∼ 10¹⁷eV of these events.This result places significant constraints on more exotic production mechanisms. 

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. 

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. 

Abstract The femtoscopic study of pairs of identical pions is particularly suited to investigate the effective source function of particle emission, due to the resulting Bose–Einstein correlation signal. In small collision systems at the LHC, pp in particular, the majority of the pions are produced in resonance decays, which significantly affect the profile and size of the source. In this work, we explicitly model this effect in order to extract the primordial source in pp collisions at$$\sqrt{s}~=~13$$ $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV from charged$$\uppi $$ $\pi$–$$\uppi $$ $\pi$correlations measured by ALICE. We demonstrate that the assumption of a Gaussian primordial source is compatible with the data and that the effective source, resulting from modifications due to resonances, is approximately exponential, as found in previous measurements at the LHC. The universality of hadron emission in pp collisions is further investigated by applying the same methodology to characterize the primordial source of$$\textrm{K}$$ $\text{K}$–$$\textrm{p}$$ $\text{p}$ pairs. The size of the primordial source is evaluated as a function of the transverse mass ($$m_{\textrm{T}}$$ $m_{\text{T}}$) of the pairs, leading to the observation of a common scaling for both$$\uppi $$ $\pi$–$$\uppi $$ $\pi$and$$\textrm{K}$$ $\text{K}$–$$\textrm{p}$$ $\text{p}$ , suggesting a collective effect. Further, the present results are compatible with the$$m_{\textrm{T}}$$ $m_{\text{T}}$scaling of the$$\textrm{p}$$ $\text{p}$–$$\textrm{p}$$ $\text{p}$ and p$$-\Lambda $$ $-\Lambda$primordial source measured by ALICE in high multiplicity pp collisions, providing additional evidence for the presence of a common emission source for all hadrons in small collision systems at the LHC. This will allow the determination of the source function for any hadron–hadron pairs with high precision, granting access to the properties of the possible final-state interaction among pairs of less abundantly produced hadrons, such as strange or charmed particles. 

Abstract The production cross section of inclusive isolated photons has been measured by the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at centre-of-momentum energy of$$\sqrt{s} =13$$ $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected during the LHC Run 2 data-taking period. The measurement is performed by combining the measurements of the electromagnetic calorimeter EMCal and the central tracking detectors ITS and TPC, covering a pseudorapidity range of$$|\eta ^{\gamma }|<0.67$$ $|{\eta }^{\gamma }|<0.67$and a transverse momentum range of$$7 $7<p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }<200$GeV/$$c$$ $c$. The result extends to lower$$p_\textrm{T}^{\gamma }$$ $p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }$and$$x_\textrm{T}^{\gamma } = 2p_\textrm{T}^{\gamma }/\sqrt{s} $$ $x_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }=2p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }/\sqrt{s}$ranges, the lowest$$x_\textrm{T}^{\gamma }$$ $x_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }$of any isolated photon measurements to date, extending significantly those measured by the ATLAS and CMS experiments towards lower$$p_\textrm{T}^{\gamma }$$ $p_{\text{T}}^{\gamma }$at the same collision energy with a small overlap between the measurements. The measurement is compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and the results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments as well as with measurements at other collision energies. The measurement and theory prediction are in agreement with each other within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. 

Abstract The transverse momentum ($$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$) differential production cross section of the promptly produced charm-strange baryon$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$(and its charge conjugate$$\overline{\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}}$$ $\overline{{\Xi }_c^0}$) is measured at midrapidity via its hadronic decay into$$\mathrm{\pi ^{+}}\Xi ^{-}$$ ${\pi }^{+}{\Xi }^{-}$in p–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon collision$$\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$$ $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$nuclear modification factor ($$R_{\textrm{pPb}}$$ $R_{\text{pPb}}$), calculated from the cross sections in pp and p–Pb collisions, is presented and compared with the$$R_{\textrm{pPb}}$$ $R_{\text{pPb}}$of$$\mathrm {\Lambda _{c}^{+}}$$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$baryons. The ratios between the$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$-differential production cross section of$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$baryons and those of$$\mathrm {D^0}$$ $D^0$mesons and$$\mathrm {\Lambda _{c}^{+}}$$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$baryons are also reported and compared with results at forward and backward rapidity from the LHCb Collaboration. The measurements of the production cross section of prompt$$\Xi ^0_\textrm{c}$$ ${\Xi }_{\text{c}}^0$baryons are compared with a model based on perturbative QCD calculations of charm-quark production cross sections, which includes only cold nuclear matter effects in p–Pb collisions, and underestimates the measurement by a factor of about 50. This discrepancy is reduced when the data is compared with a model that includes string formation beyond leading-colour approximation or in which hadronisation is implemented via quark coalescence. The$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$-integrated cross section of prompt$$\Xi ^0_\textrm{c}$$ ${\Xi }_{\text{c}}^0$-baryon production at midrapidity extrapolated down to$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$= 0 is also reported. These measurements offer insights and constraints for theoretical calculations of the hadronisation process. Additionally, they provide inputs for the calculation of the charm production cross section in p–Pb collisions at midrapidity. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> The production cross sections of D⁰, D⁺, and$$ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$hadrons originating from beauty-hadron decays (i.e. non-prompt) were measured for the first time at midrapidity in proton–lead (p–Pb) collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of$$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $$ $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$= 5.02 TeV. Nuclear modification factors (R_pPb) of non-prompt D⁰, D⁺, and$$ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$are calculated as a function of the transverse momentum (p_T) to investigate the modification of the momentum spectra measured in p–Pb collisions with respect to those measured in proton–proton (pp) collisions at the same energy. TheR_pPbmeasurements are compatible with unity and with the measurements in the prompt charm sector, and do not show a significantp_Tdependence. Thep_T-integrated cross sections andp_T-integratedR_pPbof non-prompt D⁰and D⁺mesons are also computed by extrapolating the visible cross sections down top_T= 0. The non-prompt D-mesonR_pPbintegrated overp_Tis compatible with unity and with model calculations implementing modification of the parton distribution functions of nucleons bound in nuclei with respect to free nucleons. The non-prompt$$ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$/D⁰and D⁺/D⁰production ratios are computed to investigate hadronisation mechanisms of beauty quarks into mesons and baryons. The measured ratios as a function ofp_Tdisplay a similar trend to that measured for charm hadrons in the same collision system. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> The angular correlations between charged Ξ baryons and associated identified hadrons (pions, kaons, protons, Λ baryons, and Ξ baryons) are measured in pp collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV with the ALICE detector to give insight into the particle production mechanisms and balancing of quantum numbers on the microscopic level. In particular, the distribution of strangeness is investigated in the correlations between the doubly-strange Ξ baryon and mesons and baryons that contain a single strange quark, K and Λ. As a reference, the results are compared to Ξπand Ξp correlations, where the associated mesons and baryons do not contain a strange valence quark. These measurements are expected to be sensitive to whether strangeness is produced through string breaking or in a thermal production scenario. Furthermore, the multiplicity dependence of the correlation functions is measured to look for the turn-on of additional particle production mechanisms with event activity. The results are compared to predictions from the string-breaking model Pythia8, including tunes with baryon junctions and rope hadronisation enabled, the cluster hadronisation model Herwig7, and the core-corona model Epos-lhc. While some aspects of the experimental data are described quantitatively or qualitatively by the Monte Carlo models, no model can match all features of the data. These results provide stringent constraints on the strangeness and baryon number production mechanisms in pp collisions.