Jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV

The collaboration
CERN-EP-2020-210, 2020.

Abstract (data abstract)
CERN-LHC. Deuteron production in high-energy collisions is sensitive to the space-time evolution of the collision system, and is typically described by a coalescence mechanism. For the first time, we present results on jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, providing an opportunity to test the established picture for deuteron production in events with a hard scattering. Using a trigger particle with high transverse-momentum~($p_{\rm T}>5$ GeV/$c$) as a proxy for the presence of a jet at mid-rapidity, we observe a measurable population of deuterons being produced around the jet proxy. The associated deuteron yield measured in a narrow angular range around the trigger particle differs by 2--3 standard deviations from the uncorrelated background. The data are described by PYTHIA model calculations featuring baryon coalescence.