Production of fully-heavy tetraquark states through the double parton scattering mechanism in $pp$ and $pA$ collisions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the production of fully-heavy tetraquark states in high-energy $pp$ and $pA$ collisions via double parton scattering, providing cross section estimates and feasibility predictions for future collider experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel calculation of fully-heavy tetraquark production through double parton scattering in $pp$ and $pA$ collisions, with detailed cross section predictions for future experiments.

Findings

Cross sections are enhanced in $pA$ collisions compared to scaled $pp$ predictions.

Future collider runs could feasibly detect these exotic tetraquark states.

Predictions cover various collision types and rapidity ranges.

Abstract

The production of fully-heavy tetraquark states in proton-proton ($pp$) and proton-nucleus ($pA$) collisions at the center-of-mass energies of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and at the Future Circular Collider (FCC) is investigated considering that these states are produced through the double parton scattering mechanism. We estimate the cross sections for the $T_{4c}$, $T_{4b}$ and $T_{2b2c}$ states and present predictions for $pp$, $pCa$ and $pPb$ collisions considering the rapidity ranges covered by central and forward detectors. We demonstrate that the cross sections for $pA$ collisions are enhanced in comparison to the $pp$ predictions scaled by the atomic number. Moreover, our results indicate that a search of these exotic states is, in principle, feasible in the future runs of the LHC and FCC.