Measurement of multi-particle azimuthal correlations in pp, p + Pb and low-multiplicity Pb + Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector

Abstract

Multi-particle cumulants and corresponding Fourier harmonics are measured for azimuthal angle distributions of charged particles in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] = 5.02 and 13 TeV and in [Formula: see text] + Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] = 5.02 TeV, and compared to the results obtained for low-multiplicity [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] = 2.76 TeV. These measurements aim to assess the collective nature of particle production. The measurements of multi-particle cumulants confirm the evidence for collective phenomena in [Formula: see text] + Pb and low-multiplicity [Formula: see text] collisions. On the other hand, the [Formula: see text] results for four-particle cumulants do not demonstrate collective behaviour, indicating that they may be biased by contributions from non-flow correlations. A comparison of multi-particle cumulants and derived Fourier harmonics across different collision systems is presented as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity. For a given multiplicity, the measured Fourier harmonics are largest in [Formula: see text], smaller in [Formula: see text] + Pb and smallest in [Formula: see text] collisions. The [Formula: see text] results show no dependence on the collision energy, nor on the multiplicity.