Anisotropic flow and related phenomena in Pb-Pb collisions at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV with ALICE

Abstract

The ALICE experiment is designed and optimised to study the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), a new state of matter, which is expected to be created at the high energy densities reached at the LHC. One of the key observables used to characterise the transport properties and the equation of state of the QGP is the azimuthal anisotropy in particle production, which is usually called anisotropic ow. In this presentation, we report the first measurements of anisotropic ow in Pb{Pb collisions at √sNN = 5:02 TeV, the highest energy ever achieved in heavy{ion collisions, and compare them with both theoretical predictions and experimental measurements at lower energies. This provides a unique opportunity to test the validity of the hydrodynamic paradigm at new energies and to further constrain key transport parameters of the QGP, such as the shear viscosity over entropy ratio.