# Heavy flavour production in proton-lead and lead-lead collisions with LHCb

## TL;DR

This paper discusses LHCb's unique capabilities in studying heavy-flavor production in proton-lead and lead-lead collisions, providing measurements of nuclear effects in a forward region and highlighting recent results and future prospects.

## Contribution

It presents the first measurements of heavy-flavor nuclear modification factors and forward-backward ratios in pPb and PbPb collisions at the LHCb experiment, expanding the kinematic coverage.

## Key findings

- Measurements of nuclear modification factors for charmonium, open charm, and bottomonium.
- Observation of nuclear effects in heavy-flavor production in forward rapidity.
- First results on prompt J/ψ nuclear modification in lead-lead collisions.

## Abstract

The LHCb experiment offers the unique opportunity to study heavy-ion interactions in the forward region (2 <eta< 5), in a kinematic domain complementary to the other 3 large experiments at the LHC. The detector has excellent capabilities for reconstructing quarkonia and open charm states, including baryons, down to zero $p_T$. It can separate the prompt and displaced charm components. In $p$Pb collisions, both forward and backward rapidities are covered thanks to the possibility of beam reversal. Results include measurements of the nuclear modification factor and forward-backward ratio for charmonium, open charm and bottomonium states. These quantities are sensitive probes for nuclear effects in heavy flavour production. Perspectives are given with the large accumulated luminosity during the 2016 $p$Pb run at the LHC. In 2015, LHCb participated successfully for the first time in the PbPb data-taking. The status of the forward prompt J/$\psi$ nuclear modification factor measurement in lead-lead collisions is discussed.