Characterizing the initial state and dynamical evolution in Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions using multiparticle cumulants

Xenon-xenon (Xe-Xe) collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √sNN = 5.44 TeV provide a unique probe of nuclear deformation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). By comparing with lead-lead (Pb–Pb) collisions at √sNN = 5.36 TeV, the dependence of flow harmonics (vn) on system size and initial geometry is studied. For the first time, correlations between multiple flow harmonics (v2, v3, and v4) using higher-order mixed harmonic cumulants are measured and compared across centrality classes between Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions. The results, obtained with charged particles in |η| < 2.4 and 0.5 < pT < 3.0 GeV/c, are compared to theoretical models, offering constraints on Xe deformation and insights into the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) evolution.