The first high-energy collisions between light nuclei at the Large Hadron Collider confirm the unusual “bowling-pin” shape of neon nuclei and offer up a new tool to study the extreme state of matter produced in the aftermath of the Big Bang.

The ATLAS Collaboration has just released its first search for jet quenching in oxygen–oxygen collisions.

The ATLAS Collaboration today presented their first study of oxygen and neon collisions at the Initial Stages conference, including first measurements of elliptic flow.

The ATLAS Experiment at CERN dives into uncharted waters, recording its first-ever collisions of oxygen and neon ions. These are not your typical heavy-ion collisions. Oxygen and neon nuclei are far smaller than lead – the LHC’s usual candidate for ion runs – and offer physicists exciting new opportunities to study the strong force.