Measurements of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions with ALICE at the LHC

Heavy-flavour hadrons, i.e. hadrons carrying charm or beauty quarks, are a well-suited probe to study the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. For this reason, measurements of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays have been performed in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC with the ALICE detector. Results for the nuclear modification factors (R-pA and R-AA) support a final-state energy loss of heavy quarks in central Pb-Pb collisions and, in semi-central collisions a positive elliptic flow coefficient v(2) of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was observed. Furthermore, a double-ridge structure was observed in the measured two-particle angular correlation distribution, triggered by heavy-flavour decay electrons, in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions relative to low-multiplicity p-Pb collisions and to pp collisions. (C) 2014 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.