Charged-hadron production in pp, p plus Pb, Pb plus Pb, and Xe plus Xe collisions at ?sNN=5 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Abstract

This paper presents measurements of charged-hadron spectra obtained in pp, p+Pb, and Pb+Pb collisions at root s or root s(NN) = 5.02TeV, and in Xe+Xe collisions at root s(NN) = 5.44TeV. The data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC have total integrated luminosities of 25 pb(-1), 28 nb(-1), 0.50 nb(-1), and 3 mu b(-1), respectively. The nuclear modification factors RpPb and R-AA are obtained by comparing the spectra in heavy-ion and pp collisions in a wide range of charged-particle transverse momenta and pseudorapidity. The nuclear modification factor RpPb shows a moderate enhancement above unity with a maximum at p(T) approximate to 3 GeV; the enhancement is stronger in the Pb-going direction. The nuclear modification factors in both Pb+Pb and Xe+Xe collisions feature a significant, centrality-dependent suppression. They show a similar distinct p(T)-dependence with a local maximum at p(T) approximate to 2 GeV and a local minimum at p(T) approximate to 7 GeV. This dependence is more distinguishable in more central collisions. No significant eta |-dependence is found. A comprehensive comparison with several theoretical predictions is also provided. They typically describe RAA better in central collisions and in the pT range from about 10 to 100 GeV.