Measurement of the exclusive $Î¥$ production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$7 TeV and 8 TeV

Abstract

A study is presented of central exclusive production of $Υ(nS)$ states, where the $Υ(nS)$ resonances decay to the $μ^+μ^-$ final state, using $pp$ collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment. The cross-section is measured in the rapidity range $2<y(Υ)<4.5$ where the muons are reconstructed in the pseudorapidity range $2<η(μ^\pm)<4.5$. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 fb$^{-1}$ and was collected at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ TeV and $8$ TeV. The measured $Υ(1S)$ and $Υ(2S)$ production cross-sections are \begin{eqnarray} σ(pp \to pΥ(1S)p) &=& 9.0 \pm 2.1 \pm 1.7\textrm{ pb and}\nonumber\\ σ(pp \to pΥ(2S)p) &=& 1.3 \pm 0.8 \pm 0.3\textrm{ pb},\nonumber \end{eqnarray} where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. The $Υ(1S)$ cross-section is also measured as a function of rapidity and is found to be in good agreement with Standard Model predictions. An upper limit is set at 3.4 pb at the 95\% confidence level for the exclusive $Υ(3S)$ production cross-section, including possible contamination from $χ_b(3P)\toΥ(3S)γ$ decays.

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