This thesis presents the first measurement of charmed D0 meson production relative to the reaction plane in Pb–Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision of √sNN = 2.76 TeV. It also showcases the measurement of the D0 production in p–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement of the D0 azimuthal anisotropy with respect to the reaction plane indicates that low- momentum charm quarks participate in the collective expansion of the high-density, strongly interacting medium formed in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, despite their large mass. This behavior can be explained by charm hadronization via recombination with light quarks from the medium and collisional energy loss. The measurement of the D0 production in p–Pb collisions is crucial to separate the effect induced by cold nuclear matter from the final- state effects induced by the hot medium formed in Pb–Pb collisions. The D0 production in p–Pb collisions is consistent with the binary collision scaling of the production in pp collisions, demonstrating that the modification of the momentum distribution observed in Pb–Pb collisions with respect to pp is predominantly induced by final-state effects such as the charm energy loss.

This thesis provides a comprehensive view of the physics of charmed hadrons in high-energy proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions. Given their large masses, charm quarks are produced in the early stage of a heavy-ion collision and they subsequently experience the full system evolution probing the colour-deconfined medium called quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in such collisions. In this thesis, the mechanisms of charm-quark in-medium energy loss and hadronisation are discussed via the measurements of the production of charm mesons with (Ds+) and without (D+) strange-quark content in different colliding systems, using data collected by the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The participation of the charm quark and its possible thermalisation in the QGP are studied via measurements of azimuthal anisotropies in the production of D+ mesons. Finally, the prospects for future measurements with the upgraded ALICE experimental apparatus and with more refined machine learning techniques are presented.

This book focuses on new experimental and theoretical advances concerning the role of strange and heavy-flavour quarks in high-energy heavy-ion collisions and in astrophysical phenomena. The topics covered include • Strangeness and heavy-quark production in nuclear collisions and hadronic interactions, • Hadron resonances in the strongly-coupled partonic and hadronic medium, • Bulk matter phenomena associated with strange and heavy quarks, • QCD phase structure, • Collectivity in small systems, • Strangeness in astrophysics,• Open questions and new developments.

This new volume, I/23, of the Landolt-Börnstein Data Collection series continues a tradition inaugurated by the late Editor-in-Chief, Professor Werner Martienssen, to provide in the style of an encyclopedia a summary of the results and ideas of Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics. Formerly, the Landolt-Börnstein series was mostly known as a compilation of numerical data and functional relations, but it was felt that the more comprehensive summary undertaken here should meet an urgent purpose. Volume I/23 reports on the present state of theoretical and experimental knowledge in the field of Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics. What is meant by this rather technical terminology is the study of strongly interacting matter, and its phases (in short QCD matter) by means of nucleus-nucleus collisions at relativistic energy. The past decade has seen a dramatic progress, and widening of scope in this field, which addresses one of the chief remaining open frontiers of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and, in a wider sense, the "Standard Model of Elementary Interactions". The data resulting from the CERN SPS, BNL AGS and GSI SIS experiments, and in particular also from almost a decade of experiments carried out at the "Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider"(RHIC) at Brookhaven, have been fully analyzed, uncovering a wealth of information about both the confined and deconfined phases of QCD at high energy density.

This volume gathers the content of the courses held at the Third IDPASC School, which took place in San Martiño Pinario, Hospederia and Seminario Maior, in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galiza, Spain, from January 21st to February 2nd, 2013. This school is the annual joint program of the International Doctorate Network in Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology (IDPASC). The purpose of the school series is to present doctoral students from different universities and laboratories in Europe and beyond with a broad range of the latest results and current state of the art in the fields of Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology, and to further introduce them to both the questions now posed by the potentials of physics and to challenges connected with current and future experiments – in particular, with the newly available energy ranges. Following these guidelines, the content of this third edition of the IDPASC School was jointly planned by the Academic Council and by the network’s International Committee, whose members ensure every year its timely formulation, keeping up with the constant evolution of these fields. The program covers a balanced range of the latest developments in these fields worldwide, with courses offered by internationally acknowledged physicists on the Basic Features of Hadronic Processes, Quantum Chromodynamics, Physics and Technology of ALICE, LHCb Physics-Parity Violation, the Higgs System in and beyond the Standard Model, Higgs Searches at the LHC, Theory and Experiments with Cosmic Rays, Numerical Methods and Data Analysis in Particle Physics, Theoretical Cosmology, and AdS/CFT Correspondence. Most of these courses were complemented by practical and discussion sessions.

This book focuses on new experimental and theoretical advances concerning the role of strange and heavy-flavour quarks in high-energy heavy-ion collisions and in astrophysical phenomena. The topics covered include • Strangeness and heavy-quark production in nuclear collisions and hadronic interactions, • Hadron resonances in the strongly-coupled partonic and hadronic medium, • Bulk matter phenomena associated with strange and heavy quarks, • QCD phase structure, • Collectivity in small systems, • Strangeness in astrophysics,• Open questions and new developments.