B-meson production at forward rapidities in pp collisions at the LHC: estimating the intrinsic bottom contribution

• Published in: The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields Vol. 84; no. 9; pp. 886 - 7
• Main Authors: Lima, Yuri N., Giannini, André V., Gonçalves, Victor P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 02.09.2024; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Cross-sections; Distribution functions; Elementary Particles; Gluons; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Kinematics; Large Hadron Collider; Letter; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Mesons; Neutrinos; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Particle production; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quarks; String Theory; Transverse momentum; Wave functions
• ISSN: 1434-6052; 1434-6044; 1434-6052
• DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-13278-4

The production of B mesons at forward rapidities is strongly sensitive to the behavior of the gluon and bottom distribution functions for small and large values of the Bjorken- x variable. In this exploratory study, we estimate the cross-section for the B ± meson production in the kinematic range probed by the LHCb detector and that will be analyzed by the future Forward Physics Facility (FPF) considering the hybrid formalism, the solution of the running coupling Balitsky–Kovchegov equation and distinct descriptions for the bottom distribution function. We assume an ansatz for the intrinsic bottom component in the proton wave function, and estimate its impact on the transverse momentum, rapidity and Feynman- x distributions. Our results indicate that the presence of an intrinsic bottom strongly modifies the magnitude of the cross-section at ultra-forward rapidities ( y ≥ 6 ), which implies an enhancement of the B ± production at the FPF. Possible implications on the prompt neutrino flux at ultra-high energies are also briefly discussed.