Correlations between flow and transverse momentum in Xe + Xe and Pb + Pb collisions at the LHC with the ATLAS detector: A probe of the heavy-ion initial state and nuclear deformation

The correlations between flow harmonics v_n for n = 2, 3, and 4 and mean transverse momentum [p_T] in ¹²⁹Xe+¹²⁹Xe and ²⁰⁸Pb + ²⁰⁸Pb collisions at √s = 5.44 and 5.02 TeV, respectively, are measured using charged particles with the ATLAS detector. The correlations are potentially sensitive to the shape and size of the initial geometry, nuclear deformation, and initial momentum anisotropy. The effects from nonflow and centrality fluctuations are minimized, respectively, via a subevent cumulant method and an event-activity selection based on particle production at very forward rapidity. The v_n − [p_T] correlations show strong dependencies on centrality, harmonic number n, p_T, and pseudorapidity range. Current models qualitatively describe the overall centrality- and system-dependent trends but fail to quantitatively reproduce all features of the data. In central collisions, where models generally show good agreement, the v₂ − [p_T] correlations are sensitive to the triaxiality of the quadruple deformation. Comparison of the model with the Pb + Pb and Xe + Xe data confirms that the ¹²⁹Xe nucleus is a highly deformed triaxial ellipsoid that has neither a prolate nor oblate shape. This provides strong evidence for a triaxial deformation of the ¹²⁹Xe nucleus from high-energy heavy-ion collisions.