The main goal of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions is the study of the properties of the matter at very high temperatures and energy densities. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) predicts in these conditions the existence of a new phase of the matter whose components are deconfined in a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). Heavy quarks (charm e bottom) are produced in the first stages of the collisions, before to interact with the medium. Therefore, the measurement of the quarkonia (cc and bb mesons) is of particular interest for the study of the QGP: their dissociation mainly due to the colour screening is sensible to the initial temperature of the medium. Previous measurements at the SPS and RHIC allowed to understand some characteristics of the system produced, but they also opened many questions. With an energy 14 times higher than RHIC, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN opened a new era for the study of the QGP properties. ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC experiment fully dedicated to the study of the Quark-Gluon Plasma produced in Pb-Pb collisions at an energy of 2.76 TeV per nucleon. The experiment also participates to the proton-proton data taking in order to obtain the fundamental reference for the study of ion-ion and proton-ion collisions and for testing the predictions at very small Bjorken-x values of the perturbative QCD. Quarkonia, D and B mesons and light vector mesons are measured at forward rapidity by a Muon Spectrometer exploiting their (di)muonic decay. This detector is composed of a front absorber, a dipole magnet, five stations of tracking (Muon Tracking) and two stations of trigger (Muon Trigger). The work presented in this thesis has been carried out from 2011 to 2013 during the first period of data taking of ALICE. After a detailed introduction of the heavy-ion physics and a description of the experimental setup, the performance of the Muon Trigger in Pb-Pb collisions are shown. A particular attention is devoted to the stability of the detector during the time and to the trigger effectiveness. Moreover, the cluster size, corresponding to the number of adjacent strips hit by a particle, is studied as a function of different variables. The experimental results will be compared to simulations in order to obtain a good parametrization of this phenomenon. Finally, the Ç production in Pb-Pb collisions is carefully analysed and compared to that in pp collisions at the same energy. The results are then compared to the J/ψ measurements obtained by ALICE, to the CMS results and to some theoretical predictions.

In dieser Arbeit wird eine umfassende Untersuchung von Clustern vorgestellt, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf dem Einfluss von Quellendruck, Temperatur und Agglomerationszustand auf die erzeugten Cluster liegt. Die neutralen Cluster werden durch Überschallstrahl-Expansion von Ar und CO2 in einem weniger untersuchten Bereich von Quellendrücken und -temperaturen erzeugt und anschließend durch Ultrahoch-Rayleigh-Streuungsmessungen charakterisiert. Die Analyse zeigt, dass das bekannte empirische Skalierungsgesetz möglicherweise nicht genau genug ist, wenn die Clustergrößen in realen Systemen einen breiteren Bereich abdecken. Ein wichtiger Schritt ist der Übergang von Ar als nahezu ideales Gas zu CO2 als reales System. Um zu beurteilen, ob die Werte der mittleren Clustergrößen aussagekräftig sind, wird in dieser Arbeit ein auf den experimentellen Ergebnissen basierendes Modell vorgeschlagen, das eine geeignete Position der Laser-Cluster-Wechselwirkungsregion im kollisionsfreien Bereich des Molekularstrahls bestimmt. Die geringe zeitliche Auflösung des mit dem Oszilloskop erfassten Signals führt zur Anwendung der Photonenzählung, die eine höhere Nachweisempfindlichkeit bietet. Im Falle von Ar-Clustern zeigt diese Methode die Übereinstimmung des Verhaltens mit den bekannten theoretischen Berechnungen. Die Analyse der relativen mittleren CO2-Clustergrößen zeigt dagegen, dass die theoretische Skalierung für Cluster, die sich aus Flüssigkeiten mit hoher Dichte bilden, nicht gut geeignet ist. Die relative mittlere Größe kleiner und besonders großer Cluster ermöglicht die Unterscheidung zwischen Clustern, die durch Expansion von der gasförmigen oder flüssigen Seite des kritischen Punktes erzeugt werden, und einem Zwischenbereich, in dem die Expansion die überkritischen gasförmigen und flüssigen Bereiche passiert. Bei Messungen in der Nähe der Widom-Linie zeigen zwei verschiedene gemessene und berechnete Skalierungsgesetze einen scharfen Übergang beim Überschreiten dieser Linie. / This thesis presents a comprehensive study of clusters with a focus on the influence of the source pressure, temperature, and agglomeration state on the generated clusters. The neutral clusters are generated by supersonic jet expansion of Ar and CO2 applying a less-studied range of source pressures and source temperatures and then characterized by ultra-high Rayleigh scattering measurements. The analysis indicates that the known empirical scaling law may lack sufficient accuracy when cluster sizes cover a broader range in real systems. An important step is moving from Ar as a near-ideal gas to CO2 as a real system. To evaluate whether the values of the mean cluster sizes are meaningful, in this thesis, a model based on the experimental results is proposed, which determines an appropriate position of the laser-cluster interaction region in the collisionless domain of the molecular beam. The low temporal resolution of the detected signal via oscilloscope leads to the application of photon counting that provides a higher detection sensitivity. In the case of Ar clusters, this method reveals the compliance of the behavior with the known theoretical calculations. The analysis of the relative mean CO2 cluster sizes, in contrast, indicate that the theoretical scaling does not suit well for clusters formed from the high-density fluids. The relative mean size of small and extra-large clusters enables the distinction of the clusters generated via expansion from the gas or the liquid side of the critical point and an intermediate regime where the expansion passes the supercritical gas-like and liquid-like regions. In measurements at conditions near the Widom line, two different measured and calculated scaling laws reveal a sharp transition on crossing it.

Le Timepix3, successeur du Timepix, est un détecteur au silicium composé de deux couches sensibles installées en parallèle. Chaque couche est munie d’une matrice de 65 536 pixels (256x256) et d’une épaisseur de 500 μm. Une des améliorations du Timepix3 par rapport aux générations précédentes est qu’il est possible de récolter simultanément la quantité de charge déposée ainsi que le temps d’arrivée de cette charge. Pour la prise de données Run 3 du LHC qui a débuté en 2022, 16 détecteurs Timepix3 ont été installés dans la caverne du détecteur ATLAS. Les Timepix3 seront utilisés pour mesurer la luminosité du faisceau du LHC ainsi que pour caractériser et mesurer la radiation dans la caverne ATLAS, où beaucoup de composantes électroniques sont installés. L’objet de cette maitrise est de développer un algorithme d’identification des particules qui frappe le détecteur Timepix3. Dans un premier temps, l’information de la quantité d’énergie déposée et du temps d’arrivée sera utilisée pour caractériser un champ de particules incidentes au détecteur Timepix3 (électrons, photons, particules lourdes chargées). La nouvelle méthode consiste à utiliser les paramètres physiques des particules lors de leurs interactions avec le milieu, tels que la trajectoire, l’angle d’incidence, le dépôt d’énergie, la densité spatiale de l’amas, densité énergétique le long de la trajectoire de la particule incidente. Dans un second temps, comme les rayons delta sont des effets récurrents et indésirables qui perturbent l’analyse des données en physique des particules, ce mémoire traitera de la façon de les supprimer pour ne récolter que l’énergie déposée directement par la particule incidente. Il sera aussi question d’utiliser la statistique liée à la production des rayons delta lors du passage d’un flux de particules dans le détecteur pour en déterminer l’énergie cinétique. L’algorithme développé pour caractériser un champ de particules avec le Timepix3 a été confronté aux données obtenues avec un cyclotron de protons à Aahrus au Danemark. Nous avons obtenu des résultats satisfaisants, étant donné que la majorité des particules sont identifiées comme des protons et que nous avons réussi à déterminer l’énergie cinétique de ces protons qui se rapproche de l’énergie cinétique du faisceau de protons utilisé. / The Timepix3, successor to the Timepix, is a silicon detector composed of two sensitive layers mounted in parallel. Each layer has a matrix of 65 536 pixels (256x256) and a thickness of 500 μm. One of the improvements of the Timepix3 compared to previous generations is that it is possible to simultaneously collect the quantity of charge deposited as well as the time of arrival of this charge. For the LHC Run 3 data taking which started in 2022, 16 Timepix3 detectors were installed in the ATLAS detector cavern. The Timepix3 will be used to measure the luminosity of the LHC beam as well as to characterize and measure the radiation in the ATLAS cavern, where many electronic components are installed. The purpose of this master thesis is to develop an algorithm for identifying particles that strike the Timepix3 detector. Initially, information on the amount of energy deposited and the time of arrival will be used to characterize a field of particles incident at the Timepix3 detector (electrons, photons, heavy charged particles). The new method consists in using the physical parameters of the particles during their interactions with the medium, such as the trajectory, the angle of incidence, the energy deposition, the spatial density of the cluster, energy density along the trajectory of the incident particle. Secondly, as delta rays are recurring and undesirable effects which disturb the analysis of data in particle physics, this thesis will deal with how to suppress them in order to harvest only the energy deposited directly by the incident particle. It will also be a question of using the statistics linked to the production of delta rays when a flow of particles passes through the detector to determine their kinetic energy. The algorithm developed to characterize a particle field with the Timepix3 was confronted with data obtained with a proton cyclotron at Aahrus in Denmark. We have obtained satisfactory results, given that the majority of the particles are identified as protons and that we have succeeded in determining the kinetic energy of these protons which is close to the kinetic energy of the proton beam used.