Open Heavy Flavor Production in p-p and Pb-Pb collisions as seen by ALICE at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports on measurements of charm and beauty production in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at the LHC using the ALICE detector, showing agreement with QCD predictions in p-p and suppression effects in Pb-Pb collisions.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on heavy flavor production in different collision systems at the LHC, including differential cross sections and suppression patterns.

Findings

Good agreement with pQCD in p-p collisions

Suppression of heavy flavor yields in central Pb-Pb collisions

Differential cross sections measured at multiple energies

Abstract

Charm and beauty production are probed with the ALICE experiment at the LHC by studying the single lepton transverse momentum distribution (electrons at mid-rapidity, muons at large-rapidities) and D mesons reconstructed in their hadronic decays. The differential production cross sections in proton proton interactions show a good agreement with perturbative QCD calculations at both sqrt(s) = 2.76 and 7 TeV. The measurements in lead lead reactions at sqrt(s_{NN})= 2.76 TeV evidence a reduction (or suppression) of the production rate at intermediate and high pt in the most central collisions with respect to the rate in proton proton interactions.