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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.

The ratio of the yields of antiprotons to protons in pp collisions has been measured by the ALICE experiment at sqrt[s]=0.9 and 7 TeV during the initial running periods of the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement covers the transverse momentum interval 0.45

The Timepix3, hybrid pixel detector (HPD) readout chip, a successor to the Timepix [1] chip, can record time-of-arrival (ToA) and time-over-threshold (ToT) simultaneously in each pixel. ToA information is recorded in a 14-bit register at 40 MHz and can be refined by a further 4 bits with a nominal resolution of 1.5625 ns (640 MHz). ToT is recorded in a 10-bit overflow controlled counter at 40 MHz. Pixels can be programmed to record 14 bits of integral ToT and 10 bits of event counting, both at 40 MHz. The chip is designed in 130 nm CMOS and contains 256 × 256 pixel channels (55 × 55 µm 2 ). The chip, which has more than 170 M transistors, has been conceived as a general-purpose readout chip for HPDs used in a wide range of applications. Common requirements of these applications are operation without a trigger signal, and sparse readout where only pixels containing event information are read out.A new architecture has been designed for sparse readout and can achieve a throughput of up to 40 Mhits/s/cm 2 . The flexible architecture offers readout schemes ranging from serial (one link) readout (40 Mbps) to faster parallel (up to 8 links) readout of 5.12 Gbps. In the ToA/ToT operation

The production of π + , π − , K + , K − , p, and p at mid-rapidity has been measured in proton-proton collisions at √ s = 900 GeV with the ALICE detector. Particle identification is performed using the specific energy loss in the inner tracking silicon detector and the time projection chamber. In addition, time-of-flight information is used to identify hadrons at higher momenta. Finally, the distinctive kink topology of the weak decay of charged kaons is used for an alternative measurement of the kaon transverse momentum (p t ) spectra. Since these various particle identification tools give the best separation capabilities over different momentum ranges, the results are combined to extract spectra from p t = 100 MeV/c to 2.5 GeV/c. The measured spectra are further compared with QCD-inspired models which yield a poor description. The total yields and the mean p t are compared with previous measurements, and the trends as a function of collision energy are discussed.t Deceased.

The pseudorapidity density and multiplicity distribution of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, at a centre-of-mass energy √ s = 7 TeV, were measured in the central pseudorapidity region |η| < 1. Comparisons are made with previous measurements at √ s = 0.9 TeV and 2.36 TeV. At √ s = 7 TeV, for events with at least one charged particle in |η| < 1, we obtain dN ch /dη = 6.01 ± 0.01(stat.) +0.20 −0.12 (syst.). This corresponds to an increase of 57.6% ± 0.4%(stat.) +3.6 −1.8 %(syst.) relative to collisions at 0.9 TeV, significantly higher than calculations from commonly used models. The multiplicity distribution at 7 TeV is described fairly well by the negative binomial distribution.

Charged-particle production was studied in proton-proton collisions collected at the LHC with the ALICE detector at centre-of-mass energies 0.9 TeV and 2.36 TeV in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 1.4. In the central region (|η| < 0.5), at 0.9 TeV, we measure charged-particle pseudo- for non-single-diffractive collisions. The relative increase in charged-particle multiplicity from the lower to higher energy is 24.7% ± 0.5%(stat.) +5.7 −2.8 %(syst.) for inelastic and 23.7% ± 0.5%(stat.) +4.6 −1.1 %(syst.) for non-single-diffractive interactions. This increase is consistent with that reported by the CMS collaboration for non-single-diffractive events and larger than that found by a number of commonly used models. The multiplicity distribution was measured in different pseudorapidity intervals and studied in terms of KNO variables at both energies. The results are compared to protonantiproton data and to model predictions.

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