Measurement of beauty-quark production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV via non-prompt D mesons

Abstract

The $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-differential production cross sections of non-prompt ${\mathrm{D}}^0$, ${\mathrm{D}}^{+}$, and ${\mathrm{D}}_{\mathrm{s}}^{+}$ mesons originating from beauty-hadron decays are measured in proton$-$proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. The measurements are performed at midrapidity, $|y|<0.5$, with the data sample collected by ALICE from 2016 to 2018. The results are in agreement with predictions from several perturbative QCD calculations. The fragmentation fraction of beauty quarks to strange mesons divided by the one to non-strange mesons, $f_{\mathrm{s}}/(f_{\mathrm{u}}+f_{\mathrm{d}})$, is found to be $0.114\pm 0.016(stat.)\pm 0.006(syst.)\pm 0.003(\mathrm{BR})\pm 0.003(extrap.)$. This value is compatible with previous measurements at lower centre-of-mass energies and in different collision systems in agreement with the assumption of universality of fragmentation functions. In addition, the dependence of the non-prompt D meson production on the centre-of-mass energy is investigated by comparing the results obtained at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ and 13 TeV, showing a hardening of the non-prompt D-meson $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-differential production cross section at higher $\sqrt{s}$. Finally, the $\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ production cross section per unit of rapidity at midrapidity is calculated from the non-prompt ${\mathrm{D}}^0$, ${\mathrm{D}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{D}}_{\mathrm{s}}^{+}$, and ${\Lambda }_{\mathrm{c}}^{+}$ hadron measurements, obtaining $\mathrm{d}\sigma /\mathrm{d}y=75.2\pm 3.2(stat.)\pm 5.2(syst.{)}_{-3.2}^{+12.3}(extrap.)\mu \mathrm{b}.$

arXiv comment31 pages, 8 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 25, published version, figures at http://alice-publications.web.cern.ch/node/10826

References in corpus (25)

• XGBoost: A Scalable Tree Boosting System
• PYTHIA 6.4 Physics and Manual
• PYTHIA 6.2 Physics and Manual
• An Introduction to PYTHIA 8.2
• New Generation of Parton Distributions with Uncertainties from Global QCD Analysis
• A general framework for implementing NLO calculations in shower Monte Carlo programs: the POWHEG BOX
• New parton distribution functions from a global analysis of quantum chromodynamics
• A Positive-Weight Next-to-Leading-Order Monte Carlo for Heavy Flavour Hadroproduction
• Tuning PYTHIA 8.1: the Monash 2013 Tune
• Performance of the ALICE Experiment at the CERN LHC
• The p_T Spectrum in Heavy-Flavour Hadroproduction
• Theoretical predictions for charm and bottom production at the LHC
• The p_T Spectrum in Heavy-Flavour Photoproduction
• Charmed-Meson Fragmentation Functions with Finite-Mass Corrections
• Inclusive Charmed-Meson Production at the CERN LHC
• Maximum Relative Strangeness Content in Heavy Ion Collisions Around 30 A.GeV
• Open Heavy Flavor in QCD Matter and in Nuclear Collisions
• Inclusive D^{*+-} Production in p p-bar Collisions with Massive Charm Quarks
• Collinear Subtractions in Hadroproduction of Heavy Quarks
• Charmed-Hadron Fragmentation Functions from CERN LEP1 Revisited
• Revisiting the D-meson hadroproduction in general-mass variable flavour number scheme
• Bottom-quark production at hadron colliders: fully differential predictions in NNLO QCD
• Prompt neutrinos from atmospheric charm in the general-mass variable-flavor-number scheme
• Bottom hadro-chemistry in high-energy hadronic collisions
• Inclusive charmed-meson production from bottom hadron decays at the LHC

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Studies of beauty hadron and non-prompt charm hadron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV within a transport model approach
• First measurement of ${\mathrm{D}}_{s1}(1^{+})(2536{)}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{D}}_{s2}^{\ast }(2^{+})(2573{)}^{+}$ production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV at the LHC