Measurement of the J/Psi Production Cross Section in 920 GeV/c Fixed-Target Proton-Nucleus Interactions

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of J/Psi meson production cross sections in 920 GeV/c proton-nucleus interactions, providing new data across different target materials and comparing results with previous studies.

Contribution

First measurement of J/Psi production cross sections at this energy in proton-nucleus interactions using multiple target materials.

Findings

Total cross section sigma_(pN)(J/Psi) = 663 ± 74 ± 46 nb/nucleon

Cross sections vary with target material, consistent with prior data

Results agree with previous measurements within uncertainties

Abstract

The mid-rapidity (dsigma_(pN)/dy at y=0) and total sigma_(pN) production cross sections of J/Psi mesons are measured in proton-nucleus interactions. Data collected by the HERA-B experiment in interactions of 920 GeV/c protons with carbon, titanium and tungsten targets are used for this analysis. The J/Psi mesons are reconstructed by their decay into lepton pairs. The total production cross section obtained is sigma_(pN)(J/Psi) = 663 +- 74 +- 46 nb/nucleon. In addition, our result is compared with previous measurements.