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CMS-PAS-HIN-25-009
Collective flow in OO and NeNe collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = $ 5.36 TeV
Abstract: The collective flow in oxygen-oxygen (OO) and neon-neon (NeNe) collisions provide important information about the origin of collectivity in small collision systems. They also serve as probes for nuclear structure of O and Ne nuclei. The elliptic ($ v_{2} $) and triangular ($ v_{3} $) flow harmonics of charged particles from two-particle correlations, as well as $ v_{2} $ values from four-particle correlations, are measured as functions of the nuclear overlap from peripheral to central OO and NeNe collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $ \sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = $ 5.36 TeV. The data were obtained with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to integrated luminosity of 7 nb$^{-1} $ for OO collisions and 0.8 nb$^{-1} $ for NeNe collisions. The $ v_2 $ values show a similar trend as previously observed in PbPb collisions where the values decrease towards central collisions, reflecting the initial geometry of the overlapping area of the AA collisions. An increasing trend is observed for $ v_{3} $ values from peripheral to central collisions, in contrast with the observation in PbPb collisions, indicating different initial state fluctuations in small and large collision systems. The ratio of NeNe to OO $ v_{2} $ values shows a significant increasing trend towards central collisions, while the $ v_{3} $ ratio shows a decreasing trend. A comparison of hydrodynamic models that include $ ab $ $ initio $ nuclear structure conditions to these results provides important information on how the collective flow is influenced by the initial collision geometry in small collision systems, including how the nuclear deformation and $ \alpha $-clustering in O and Ne nuclei affects the resulting bulk dynamics.
Figures & Tables Summary References CMS Publications
Figures

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Figure 1:
Results of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $, $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{2}\{4\} $ for charged particles with 0.3 $ < p_{\mathrm{T}} < $ 3.0 GeV/$c$ and $ |\eta| < $ 2.4 as functions of centrality in OO (left) and NeNe (right) collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.36 TeV. The $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ results after subtracting correlations from 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 2:
Ratios between $ v_{2}\{4\} $ and $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ as functions of centrality in OO and NeNe collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.36 TeV. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 3:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ (left), $ v_{2}\{4\} $ (middle), and $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $(right) values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Model calculations with different initial conditions [53,69] are plotted for comparison. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 4:
The two-dimensional per-trigger-particle associated yield for charged particles with 0.3 $ < p_{\mathrm{T}} < $ 3.0 GeV/$c$ and $ |\eta| < $ 2.4 for events with centrality 0-1% in OO collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.36 TeV.

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Figure 5:
The two-dimensional per-trigger-particle associated yield for charged particles with 0.3 $ < p_{\mathrm{T}} < $ 3.0 GeV/$c$ and $ |\eta| < $ 2.4 for events with centrality 0-1% in NeNe collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.36 TeV.

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Figure 6:
Results of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $, $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{2}\{4\} $ for charged particles with 0.3 $ < p_{\mathrm{T}} < $ 3.0 GeV/$c$ and $ |\eta| < $ 2.4 as functions of centrality in OO (left) and NeNe (right) collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.36 TeV. The $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Model calculations for $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ with different initial conditions [53,69] are plotted for comparison. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 7:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ (left), $ v_{2}\{4\} $ (middle), and $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $(right) values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 8:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Model calculations with different initial conditions [53,69] are plotted for comparison. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 9:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 10:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{4\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 11:
The ratios of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{2}\{4\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

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Figure 12:
The ratios of $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Model calculations with different initial conditions [53,69] are plotted for comparison. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.

png pdf
Figure 13:
The ratios of $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ values in NeNe and OO collisions as functions of centrality. The results after subtracting correlations from the 70-80% centrality range are shown as dot-dashed lines. Vertical error bars correspond to statistical uncertainties, while the shaded boxes denote the systematic uncertainties.
Tables

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Table 1:
The average number of $ N_\text{trk}^\text{offline} $ in each centrality range in OO and NeNe collisions.
Summary
In summary, the azimuthal dependence of particle emission in OO and NeNe collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.36 TeV is studied. The elliptic ($ v_2 $) and triangular ($ v_3 $) flow harmonics as a function of the collision overlap geometry are presented in the centrality range between 50 and 0%, where 0% corresponds to complete overlap of the colliding nuclei. The $ v_2 $ values based on two-particle correlations that require a pseudorapidity gap $ |\Delta\eta| > $ 2 between particles in a pair, $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $, are compared to corresponding four-particle correlation values, $ v_2\{4\} $. The $ v_{2} $ results increase from peripheral to central collisions, reaching a maximum, and decrease towards the most central region, reflecting the initial geometry of the overlapping area of colliding nuclei. The ratio of $ v_{2}\{4\} $ to $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ shows a decreasing trend from peripheral to central collisions, similar to what is observed in PbPb collisions. The $ v_3 $ results based on two-particle correlations with a pseudorapidity gap requirement, $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $, increase monotonically from peripheral to central collisions. This differs from the behavior in PbPb collisions. A significant increasing trend is observed in the ratio of $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ and $ v_{2}\{4\} $ values of NeNe over OO collisions in the most central region, while the ratio of $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ results is decreasing from peripheral to central collisions. Comparing hydrodynamic calculations with ab initio initial conditions implementing the nuclear deformation and $ \alpha $-clustering effects to the data, the $ v_{2}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ ratio results are better described by the Trajectum calculations using the projected generator coordinate method than either the nuclear lattice effective field theory calculation or the IP-Glasma+MUSIC calculation. The model calculations capture the decreasing trend of $ v_{3}\{2,|\Delta\eta| > 2\} $ ratio of NeNe over OO, but tend to over-estimate the magnitude of results in the 20-50% centrality region. These results shed light on how collective flow in small collision systems depends on the initial collision geometry, and provide important information on the nuclear deformation and $ \alpha $-clustering structure in O and Ne nuclei.
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