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.

The Standard-Model Extension (SME) is the general phenomenological framework used to investigate Lorentz violation at the level of effective field theory. It has been used to obtain stringent experimental bounds on Lorentz violation in a wide range of tests. In the gravity sector of the SME, it is typically assumed that the spacetime symmetry breaking occurs spontaneously in order to avoid potential conflicts with the Bianchi identities. A post-Newtonian limit as well as mattergravity couplings in the SME have been developed and investigated based on this assumption. In this paper, the possibility of using the SME to also describe gravity theories with explicit spacetime symmetry breaking is investigated. It is found that in a wide range of cases, particularly when matter-gravity couplings are included, consistency with the Bianchi identities can be maintained, and therefore the SME can be used to search for signals of the symmetry breaking. Two examples with explicit breaking are considered. The first is ghost-free massive gravity with an effective metric that couples to matter. The second is Hořava gravity coupled with matter in an infrared limit. I. INTRODUCTIONGeneral relativity (GR) and the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics are well-tested theories that describe the fundamental forces of nature. However, GR is not a quantum theory, since it is not renormalizable, and it must be treated as an effective field theory at low energies. This as well as open questions about the nature of dark matter and dark energy have led to investigations of alternative gravity theories that modify GR, where the ultimate goal is to find a consistent quantum theory of gravity. In many scenarios, small violations of local Lorentz and diffeomorphism invariance can occur, which would provide important signatures of new physics [1].The phenomenological framework known as the Standard-Model Extension (SME) has been developed and used to search for signals of spacetime symmetry breaking in a wide range of experimental tests [2][3][4][5]. The Lorentz-and diffeomorphism-breaking operators that appear in the SME involve couplings with fixed background fields, usually referred to as SME coefficients. The results of experimental tests can be interpreted as bounds on the SME coefficients. Many different types of operators and SME coefficients have been classified and probed. These include both power-counting renormalizable and nonrenormalizable operators [6]. Gravity sectors in the SME can be defined using metric or vierbein descriptions in Riemann spacetime or more generally in Riemann-Cartan spacetime [3]. Relationships between Lorentz violation and torsion [7], nonmetricity [8], and Riemann-Finsler geometry [9] have been explored using the SME.In investigations involving gravity, a post-Newtonian limit of the SME has been developed [10] and mattergravity interactions have been incorporated [11]. These are used to examine a variety of experiments, including lunar laser ranging tests [12], atom interferometry [13], short-range gravita...

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.

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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.