New results from light ion collisions at the LHC

Abstract: Last July the LHC collided for the first time oxygen-16 and neon-20 isotopes. Since September the first measurements of hydrodynamic flow, transmutation as well as energy loss are now available. Oxygen and neon nuclei are much smaller than the conventional lead collisions and can therefore provide us answers to pressing questions on the tiniest droplets of quark-gluon plasma that can be produced at colliders. It also allows us to study how these light nuclei are shaped in a way that was never possible before. In this seminar I will explain the basic physics of these collisions including the highlights coming from the new measurements.