A recently introduced approach to photoacoustic detection of trace gases utilizing a quartz tuning fork ͑TF͒ as a resonant acoustic transducer is described in detail. Advantages of the technique called quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy ͑QEPAS͒ compared to conventional resonant photoacoustic spectroscopy include QEPAS sensor immunity to environmental acoustic noise, a simple absorption detection module design, and its capability to analyze gas samples ϳ1 mm 3 in volume. Noise sources and the TF properties as a function of the sampled gas pressure, temperature and chemical composition are analyzed. Previously published results for QEPAS based chemical gas sensing are summarized. The achieved sensitivity of 5.4ϫ 10 −9 cm −1 W/ ͱ Hz is compared to recent published results of photoacoustic gas sensing by other research groups. An experimental study of the long-term stability of a QEPAS-based ammonia sensor is presented. The results of this study indicate that the sensor exhibits very low drift, which allows data averaging over Ͼ3 h of continuous concentration measurements. Architecture and practical implementation of autonomous QEPAS-sensor controller electronics is described. Future developments of QEPAS technique are outlined.

Midrapidity production of π ± , K ± , and (p)p measured by the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, in Pb-Pb and inelastic pp collisions at √ s NN = 5.02 TeV, is presented. The invariant yields are measured over a wide transverse momentum (p T) range from hundreds of MeV/c up to 20 GeV/c. The results in Pb-Pb collisions are presented as a function of the collision centrality, in the range 0-90%. The comparison of the p T-integrated particle ratios, i.e., proton-to-pion (p/π) and kaon-to-pion (K/π) ratios, with similar measurements in Pb-Pb collisions at √ s NN = 2.76 TeV show no significant energy dependence. Blast-wave fits of the p T spectra indicate that in the most central collisions radial flow is slightly larger at 5.02 TeV with respect to 2.76 TeV. Particle ratios (p/π , K/π) as a function of p T show pronounced maxima at p T ≈ 3 GeV/c in central Pb-Pb collisions. At high p T , particle ratios at 5.02 TeV are similar to those measured in pp collisions at the same energy and in Pb-Pb collisions at √ s NN = 2.76 TeV. Using the pp reference spectra measured at the same collision energy of 5.02 TeV, the nuclear modification factors for the different particle species are derived. Within uncertainties, the nuclear modification factor is particle species independent for high p T and compatible with measurements at √ s NN = 2.76 TeV. The results are compared to state-of-the-art model calculations, which are found to describe the observed trends satisfactorily.

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The first evidence of spin alignment of vector mesons (K Ã0 and ϕ) in heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is reported. The spin density matrix element ρ 00 is measured at midrapidity (jyj < 0.5) in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy (ffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi s NN p) of 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector. ρ 00 values are found to be less than 1=3 (1=3 implies no spin alignment) at low transverse momentum (p T < 2 GeV=c) for K Ã0 and ϕ at a level of 3σ and 2σ, respectively. No significant spin alignment is observed for the K 0 S meson (spin ¼ 0) in Pb-Pb collisions and for the vector mesons in pp collisions. The measured spin alignment is unexpectedly large but qualitatively consistent with the expectation from models which attribute it to a polarization of quarks in the presence of angular momentum in heavy-ion collisions and a subsequent hadronization by the process of recombination.

We present a study of the inclusive chargedparticle transverse momentum (p T) spectra as a function of charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-pseudorapidity, dN ch /dη, in pp collisions at √ s = 5.02 and 13 TeV covering the kinematic range |η| < 0.8 and 0.15 < p T < 20 GeV/c. The results are presented for events with at least one charged particle in |η| < 1 (INEL > 0). The p T spectra are reported for two multiplicity estimators covering different pseudorapidity regions. The p T spectra normalized to that for INEL > 0 show little energy dependence. Moreover, the highp T yields of charged particles increase faster than the charged-particle multiplicity density. The average p T as a function of multiplicity and transverse spherocity is reported for pp collisions at √ s = 13 TeV. For low-(high-) spherocity events, corresponding to jet-like (isotropic) events, the average p T is higher (smaller) than that measured in INEL > 0 pp collisions. Within uncertainties, the functional form of p T (N ch) is not affected by the spherocity selection. While EPOS LHC gives a good description of many features of data, PYTHIA overestimates the average p T in jet-like events.