ALICE is the heavy-ion experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The experiment continuously took data during the first physics campaign of the machine from fall 2009 until early 2013, using proton and lead-ion beams. In this paper we describe the running environment and the data handling procedures, and discuss the performance of the ALICE detectors and analysis methods for various physics observables.

Collisions of Au on Au at incident energies of 150, 250 and 400 A MeV were studied with the FOPI-facility at GSI Darmstadt. Nuclear charge (Z ≤ 15) and velocity of the products were detected with full azimuthal acceptance at laboratory angles 1 • ≤ θ lab ≤ 30 • . Isotope separated light charged particles were measured with movable multiple telescopes in an angular range of 6 − 90 • . Central collisions representing about 1% of the reaction cross section were selected by requiring high total transverse energy, but vanishing sideflow. The velocity space distributions and yields of the emitted fragments are reported. The data are analysed in terms of a thermal model including radial flow. A comparison with predictions of the Quantum Molecular Model is presented.PACS: 25.70.Pq

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