Department of High Energy Physics, Wigner RCP
The ALICE Collaboration is preparing its next major upgrade, ALICE 3, a future detector concept designed to fully exploit the physics potential of high-luminosity heavy-ion collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. With significantly improved precision, tracking, and particle identification capabilities, ALICE 3 will open new possibilities for studying the quark-gluon plasma and the production of heavy-flavor hadrons [1].
A central component of this program is the Muon Identification Detector (MID), which enables detailed measurements via muonic decay channels. Muons provide a clean and penetrating probe, making them particularly well suited for investigating both open and hidden heavy-flavor states. Through these measurements, ALICE 3 aims to explore exotic hadrons and gain deeper insight into the microscopic dynamics of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions.
Our contribution focuses on the detailed modeling of the detector response. In particular, we use the GEANT4 framework to simulate the interaction of particles with the detector material, with special emphasis on multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) technology. These simulations are crucial for optimizing detector performance, guiding design choices, and ensuring accurate interpretation of future experimental data.
In addition, we actively contribute to the coordination of the broader detector simulation effort within the collaboration [2]. Through this work, we help lay the foundation for the next generation of precision measurements in heavy-ion physics and support the realization of the ALICE 3 physics program.
We published a paper on the subject [3]. In this paper we present our studies of the CMS ZDC using proton-lead collisions measured in 2016. First, we developed a template fitting method, which can be used to extract accurate values of the ZDC signals in the presence of collisions preceding our main signal. We also improved the Monte Carlo simulation of the ZDC, including the modeling of Cherenkov photons. We have shown that the properties of the measured ZDC signals can be reproduced by this simulation and can be used to match the gains of the ZDC channels. As a result, we measured the energy distribution of neutrons emitted from the collisions at shallow angles; we have found peaks corresponding to single, double and triple neutron events (Fig. 1). Finally, we studied the effect of multiple simultaneous collisions and derived a Fourier deconvolution formula to correct the measured energy distribution in the ZDC. The corrected spectrum can be used to determine the centrality of p-Pb collisions.
[1] Vértesi R. [ALICE Collaboration], Eur. Phys. J. ST 234 (2025) 10, 2949
[2] Munoz Méndez J. E. et al., JINST 20 (2025) 09, P09015
[3] Surányi O et al. incl. Siklér F, JINST 16 (2021) P05008