Alignment of the ALICE inner tracking system with cosmic-ray tracks
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 mu m in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10(5) charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.

title: Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC
abstract: The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 900$~GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region $(|\eta|_{\rm INEL}=0.483\pm0.001$~(stat.)~$\pm0.007$~(syst.)~GeV/$c$ and $\left_{\rm NSD}=0.489\pm0.001$~(stat.)~$\pm0.007$~(syst.)~GeV/$c$, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger $\left$ than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET

title: Readout electronics of the ALICE photon spectrometer
abstract: The photon spectrometer (PHOS) in the ALICE experiment at LHC is a PbWO4 crystal based electromagnetic calorimeter, dedicated to measuring photons, π°'s and η's over a broad pT range from about 100 MeV/c to 100 GeV/c with the best possible energy and position resolution. The front-end electronics of the PHOS is thus required to cover a large dynamic range, to achieve a timing resolution better than ~ 2 ns in order to discriminate against 1-2 GeV/c (anti-)neutrons, and to provide high pT trigger to select rare high pT events. In this paper, we present the full PHOS readout system, including the avalanche photo-diode, the low noise charge sensitive preamplifier, the 32 channel front-end electronics card, the trigger region unit and the trigger OR module. Results from PHOS commissioning with beam particles and cosmic rays will also be presented to address the performance of the PHOS readout electronics.

title: Measurement of inelastic, single- and double-diffraction cross sections in proton–proton collisions at the LHC with ALICE
abstract: Measurements of cross sections of inelastic and diffractive processes in proton–proton collisions at LHC energies were carried out with the ALICE detector. The fractions of diffractive processes in inelastic collisions were determined from a study of gaps in charged particle pseudorapidity distributions: for single diffraction (diffractive mass MX<200 GeV/c2) $\sigma_{\mathrm{SD}}/\sigma_{\mathrm {INEL}} = 0.21 \pm 0.03, 0.20^{+0.07}_{-0.08}$, and $0.20^{+0.04}_{-0.07}$, respectively at centre-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s} = 0.9, 2.76\mbox{, and }7~\mbox{TeV}$; for double diffraction (for a pseudorapidity gap Δη>3) σDD/σINEL=0.11±0.03,0.12±0.05, and $0.12^{+0.05}_{-0.04}$, respectively at $\sqrt{s} = 0.9, 2.76\mbox{, and }7~\mbox{TeV}$. To measure the inelastic cross section, beam properties were determined with van der Meer scans, and, using a simulation of diffraction adjusted to data, the following values were obtained: $\sigma_{\mathrm{INEL}} = 62.8^{+2.4}_{-4.0} (\mathrm{model}) \pm1.2 (\mathrm{lumi})$ mb at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76\ \mbox{TeV}$ and $73.2^{+2.0}_{-4.6} (\mathrm{model}) \pm2.6 (\mathrm{lumi})~\mbox{mb}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 7\ \mbox{TeV}$. The single- and double-diffractive cross sections were calculated combining relative rates of diffraction with inelastic cross sections. The results are compared to previous measurements at proton–antiproton and proton–proton colliders at lower energies, to measurements by other experiments at the LHC, and to theoretical models.

title: Underlying Event measurements in pp collisions at $ \sqrt {s} = 0.9 $ and 7 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC
abstract: A bstractWe present measurements of Underlying Event observables in pp collisions at $ \sqrt {s} = 0.9 $ and 7TeV. The analysis is performed as a function of the highest charged-particle transverse momentum pT,LT in the event. Different regions are defined with respect to the azimuthal direction of the leading (highest transverse momentum) track: Toward, Transverse and Away. The Toward and Away regions collect the fragmentation products of the hardest partonic interaction. The Transverse region is expected to be most sensitive to the Underlying Event activity. The study is performed with charged particles above three different pT thresholds: 0.15, 0.5 and 1.0 GeV/c. In the Transverse region we observe an increase in the multiplicity of a factor 2–3 between the lower and higher collision energies, depending on the track pT threshold considered. Data are compared to Pythia 6.4, Pythia 8.1 and Phojet. On average, all models considered underestimate the multiplicity and summed pT in the Transverse region by about 10–30%.

title: Inclusive $J/\psi$ production in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV
abstract: The ALICE Collaboration has measured inclusive J/psi production in pp collisions at a center of mass energy sqrt(s)=2.76 TeV at the LHC. The results presented in this Letter refer to the rapidity ranges |y|<0.9 and 2.5

title: Wormhole solution in Bergmann-Wagoner scalar-tensor gravitational theory
abstract: We give a Euclidean wormhole solution in the vacuum Bergmann-Wagoner scalar-tensor gravitational theory. We show that this wormhole, unlike others, has complex charge and is a baby universe (half a wormhole).

title: Massless D-strings and moduli stabilization in type I cosmology
abstract: We consider the cosmological evolution induced by the free energy F of a gas of maximally supersymmetric heterotic strings at finite temperature and weak coupling in dimension D ≥ 4. We show that F, which plays the role of an effective potential, has minima associated to enhanced gauge symmetries, where all internal moduli can be attracted and dynamically stabilized. Using the fact that the heterotic/type I S-duality remains valid at finite temperature and can be applied at each instant of a quasi-static evolution, we find in the dual type I cosmology that all internal NS-NS and RR moduli in the closed string sector and the Wilson lines in the open string sector can be stabilized. For the special case of D = 6, the internal volume modulus remains a flat direction, while the dilaton is stabilized. An essential role is played by light D-string modes wrapping the internal manifold and whose contribution to the free energy cannot be omitted, even when the type I string is at weak coupling. As a result, the order of magnitude of the internal radii expectation values on the type I side is $ \sqrt {{{\lambda_{\text{I}}}{\alpha^{\prime}}}} $, where λI is the ten-dimensional string coupling. The non-perturbative corrections to the type I free energy can alternatively be described as effects of “thermal E1-instantons”, whose worldsheets wrap the compact Euclidean time cycle.

title: Charmonium spectroscopy from an anisotropic lattice study
abstract: We present a progress report on our study of the charmonium spectrum in full QCD on anisotropic lattices generated by the Hadron Spectrum Collaboration. We adopt a large basis of interpolating operators to extract the excited charmonium states using the variational method. A detailed spectrum of excited charmonium mesons in many J PC channels is obtained. Hybrid states with exotic and non-exotic quantum numbers are determined and preliminary results from a study of disconnected contributions to the hc are presented.

title: Heavy-baryon spectroscopy from lattice QCD
abstract: We use a four-dimensional lattice calculation of the full-QCD (quantum chromodynamics, the non-abliean gauge theory of the strong interactions of quarks and gluons) path integrals needed to determine the masses of the charmed and bottom baryons. In the charm sector, our results are in good agreement with experiment within our systematics, except for the spin-1/2 $$\Xi_{cc}$$, for which we found the isospin-averaged mass to be $$\Xi_{cc}$$ to be $$3665\pm17\pm14^{+0}_{-78}$$ MeV. We predict the mass of the (isospin-averaged) spin-1/2 $$\Omega_{cc}$$ to be $$3763\pm19\pm26^{+13}_{-79}$$ {MeV}. In the bottom sector, our results are also in agreement with experimental observations and other lattice calculations within our statistical and systematic errors. In particular, we find the mass of the $$\Omega_b$$ to be consistent with the recent CDF measurement. We also predict the mass for the as yet unobserved $$\Xi^\prime_b$$ to be 5955(27) MeV.

title: Excited spectroscopy of charmed mesons from lattice QCD
abstract: A bstractWe present spectra of highly excited D and Ds mesons up to around 3.8 GeV determined using dynamical lattice QCD. We employ novel computational techniques and the variational method with a large basis of carefully constructed operators in order to extract and reliably identify the continuum spin of an extensive set of excited states. These include states with high spin and states identified as having an explicit gluonic contribution. Calculations were performed on two volumes, both with a pion mass of approximately 400 MeV, achieving a high statistical precision for both ground and excited states. We discuss our results in light of experimental observations, comment on the phenomenological implications and identify the lightest ‘supermultiplet’ of hybrid mesons in each sector.