Proton-Antiproton Annihilation into a Lambda_c-Antilambda_c Pair

TL;DR

This paper investigates proton-antiproton annihilation into Lambda_c pairs using the handbag approach, modeling soft hadronic effects with generalized parton distributions to predict cross sections and spin correlations.

Contribution

It introduces a factorization framework for the process, combining perturbative QCD for the hard subprocess with soft GPDs for the hadronic matrix elements, enabling predictions of observables.

Findings

Predicted cross sections for p-pbar -> Lambda_c-Antilambda_c

Calculated spin correlation parameters

Validated the handbag approach for heavy baryon production

Abstract

The process p-pbar -> Lambda_c-Antilambda_c is investigated within the handbag approach. It is shown that the dominant dynamical mechanism, characterized by the partonic subprocess u-ubar -> c-cbar factorizes in the sense that only the subprocess contains highly virtual partons, a gluon to lowest order of perturbative QCD, while the hadronic matrix elements embody only soft scales and can be parameterized in terms of helicity flip and non-flip generalized parton distributions. Modelling these parton distributions by overlaps of light-cone wave functions for the involved baryons we are able to predict cross sections and spin correlation parameters for the process of interest.