Speaker
Description
The production of heavy quarkonium — bound states of a heavy quark (charm or beauty) and its corresponding antiquark — is widely used to probe both the properties of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in high-energy proton–proton (pp) collisions and deconfinement in heavy-ion collisions. In pp collisions, precise measurements of quarkonium production cross sections, polarization, and correlations with event activity are essential for constraining theoretical models and improving the understanding of charmonium production mechanisms. In heavy-ion collisions, quarkonium production and polarization serve as a rich testing ground to study quarkonium formation and in-medium dynamics.
In this contribution, we present new measurements of charmonium and $\Upsilon$(1S) production in pp collisions, together with $J/\psi$ polarization at mid and forward rapidity. Results on $J/\psi$ production as a function of event multiplicity are also reported. In addition, measurements of $J/\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) production and $J/\psi$ spin alignment as functions of centrality and transverse momentum in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV will be presented. New preliminary results on the $J/\psi$-to-$\psi$(2S) production ratio at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.36 TeV, obtained with the upgraded ALICE Run 3 detector, are also shown. All results are compared with model calculations and their physics implications are discussed.
