Description
Abstract: The ALICE detector is a general purpose detector optimized for measuring the properties of strongly interacting matter created in high energy heavy ion collisions at the LHC. The characteristic features of the ALICE detector are its low momentum cut off (100 MeV/c), its low material budget, and its excellent particle identification and vertexing capabilities. These features make ALICE well-suited for measurements over a wide kinematic range in proton-proton collisions, which serve both as a baseline for measurements in heavy ion collisions and as interesting measurements in their own right. The first results from ALICE's proton-proton program will be presented, including charged particle multiplicities, identified particle spectra, and anti-proton/proton ratios. These measurements are compared to Monte Carlo generators. Prospects for the upcoming heavy ion run will be discussed.
