Resolution of the LHCb $\eta_c$ anomaly

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified NRQCD approach that successfully resolves the longstanding $ ext{LHCb} ext{ } ext{$ ext{η}_c$}$ anomaly by accurately predicting $ ext{η}_c$ production rates, aligning theory with experimental data.

Contribution

The paper presents a modified NRQCD framework that improves predictions of $ ext{η}_c$ production, addressing previous discrepancies with LHCb data and enhancing understanding of quarkonium production.

Findings

Modified NRQCD predictions match LHCb $ ext{η}_c$ data across multiple energies.

The approach explains the agreement between $ ext{η}_c$ data and color-singlet predictions.

Modified NRQCD offers a better understanding of quarkonium production dynamics.

Abstract

Due to the heavy-quark symmetry of Non-Relativistic Quantum Chromodynamics (NRQCD), the cross-section for the production of $\eta_c$ can be predicted. This NRQCD prediction when confronted with data from the LHCb is seen to fail miserably. We address this LHCb $\eta_c$ anomaly in this paper using a new approach called modified NRQCD, an approach that has been shown to work extremely well for studying $J/\psi$, $\psi^{\prime}$ and $\chi_c$ production at the LHC. We show, in the present paper, that the predictions for $\eta_c$ production agrees very well with LHCb measurements at the three different values of energy that the experiment has presented data for. Modified NRQCD also explains the intriguing agreement of the LHCb $\eta_c$ data with the colour-singlet prediction. The remarkable agreement of the theoretical predictions with the LHCb data suggests that modified NRQCD is closer to apprehending the true dynamics of quarkonium production.