Neutral pion and $η$ meson production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV

Abstract

The first measurements of the invariant differential cross sections of inclusive $π^0$ and $η$ meson production at mid-rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV are reported. The $π^0$ measurement covers the ranges $0.4<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ and $0.3<p_T<25$ GeV/$c$ for these two energies, respectively. The production of $η$ mesons was measured at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV in the range $0.4<p_T<15$ GeV/$c$. Next-to-Leading Order perturbative QCD calculations, which are consistent with the $π^0$ spectrum at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ TeV, overestimate those of $π^0$ and $η$ mesons at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV, but agree with the measured $η/π^0$ ratio at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV.

17 pages, 5 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/3103