Light vector meson production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of light vector meson production in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV, providing cross sections and ratios that test theoretical models and improve understanding of meson production mechanisms.

Contribution

First measurement of $ ho$, $ ho$, and $ ho$ meson production cross sections in pp collisions at 7 TeV with detailed differential analysis.

Findings

Measured $ ho$ and $ ho$ production cross sections in pp collisions.

Extracted differential cross sections as functions of $p_T$.

Compared $ ho$ to $ ho$ ratios with theoretical predictions.

Abstract

The ALICE experiment has measured low-mass dimuon production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV in the dimuon rapidity region 2.5<y<4. The observed dimuon mass spectrum is described as a superposition of resonance decays ($\eta$, $\rho$, $\omega$, $\eta^{'}$, $\phi$) into muons and semi-leptonic decays of charmed mesons. The measured production cross sections for $\omega$ and $\phi$ are $\sigma_\omega$ (1<$p_{\rm T}$<5 GeV/$c$,2.5<y<4) = 5.28 $\pm$ 0.54 (stat) $\pm$ 0.50 (syst) mb and $\sigma_\phi$(1<$p_{\rm T}$<5 GeV/$c$,2.5<y<4)=0.940 $\pm$ 0.084 (stat) $\pm$ 0.078 (syst) mb. The differential cross sections $d^2\sigma/dy dp_{\rm T}$ are extracted as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ for $\omega$ and $\phi$. The ratio between the $\rho$ and $\omega$ cross section is obtained. Results for the $\phi$ are compared with other measurements at the same energy and with predictions by models.