Charm production in proton–proton collisions with ALICE at the LHC and light nuclei synthesis via coalescence in heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions in experimental facilities are conducted to investigate the dynamics of strongly interacting matter. These laboratories produce a dense soup of deconfined quarks and gluons called the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The ALICE experiment at the LHC is dedicated to studying this exotic state of matter that probes its formation from the aftermath of heavy-ion collisions. Heavy quarks (charm and beauty) are interesting probes to examine the QGP medium. Because of their large masses, they produce at the initial stages of the collision and get to traverse the entire evolution of the medium. Their production mechanisms in proton–proton (pp) collisions are of great interest, providing stringent tests to perturbative quantum chromodynamic (pQCD) calculations. Interestingly, heavy-quark production is also correlated to event properties. Studies have shown a strong correlation between charm production and the event multiplicity in pp collision, where a significant role of multiparton interactions is suspected. The role of auto-correlation effects between charm production and multiplicity is also weighed in. Moreover, with identifiable QGP signatures in high multiplicity pp collisions, the participation of charm in collective-like effects is also worth investigating. In addition, with event shapes, charm production can be categorized into the hard and soft components that allow unfolding of the production mechanisms with event activity.