Figures from paper submitted to Journal of High Energy Physics
Abstract:
The production cross sections of$\rm D^0$, $\rm D^+$, and $\rm \Lambda_c^+$ hadrons originating from beauty-hadron decays (i.e. non-prompt) were measured for the first time at midrapidity in proton--lead (p–Pb) collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV.
Nuclear modification factors ($R_{\rm pPb}$) of non-prompt $\rm D^0$, $\rm D^+$, and $\rm \Lambda_c^+$ are calculated as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) to investigate the modification of the momentum spectra measured in p–Pb collisions with respect to those measured in proton-proton (pp) collisions at the same energy. The $R_{\rm pPb}$ measurements are compatible with unity and with the measurements in the prompt charm sector, and do not show a significant $p_{\rm T}$ dependence. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated cross sections and $p_{\rm T}$-integrated $R_{\rm pPb}$ of non-prompt $\rm D^0$ and $\rm D^+$ mesons are also computed by extrapolating the visible cross sections down to $p_{\rm T}$ = 0. The non-prompt D-meson $R_{\rm pPb}$ integrated over $p_{\rm T}$ is compatible with unity and with model calculations implementing modification of the parton distribution functions of nucleons bound in nuclei with respect to free nucleons. The non-prompt $\rm \Lambda_c^+/D^0$ and $\mathrm{D^+/D^0}$ production ratio are computed to investigate hadronisation mechanisms of beauty quarks into mesons and baryons. The measured ratios as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ display a similar trend to that measured for charm hadrons in the same collision system.
e-Print: arXiv:2407.10593 | PDF | inSPIRE
