The production of $D^{*\pm}$, $D^\pm$ and $D_s^\pm$ charmed mesons has been measured with the ATLAS detector in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $280\,$nb$^{-1}$. The charmed mesons have been reconstructed in the range of transverse momentum $3.5<p_{\rm T}(D)<100$ GeV and pseudorapidity $|\eta(D)|<2.1$. The differential cross sections as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity were measured for $D^{*\pm}$ and $D^\pm$ production. The next-to-leading-order QCD predictions are consistent with the data in the visible kinematic region within the large theoretical uncertainties. Using the visible $D$ cross sections and an extrapolation to the full kinematic phase space, the strangeness-suppression factor in charm fragmentation, the fraction of charged non-strange $D$ mesons produced in a vector state, and the total cross section of charm production at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV were derived.
The visible low-$p_T$, $3.5<p_T(D)<20\rm{\ GeV}$, and high-$p_T$, $20<p_T(D)<100\rm{\ GeV}$, cross sections of $D^{*\pm}$, $D^\pm$ and $D^\pm_s$ production with $|\eta|<2.1$. The data uncertainties are the total uncertainties obtained as sums in quadrature of the statistical, systematic, luminosity and branching-fraction uncertainties.
The measured differential cross sections $\rm{d}\sigma/\rm{d}p_T$ of $D^{*\pm}$ and $D^\pm$ production with $|\eta|<2.1$. The first and second errors are the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. The systematic uncertainties corresponding to the tracking ($\delta_2$) uncertainties (Table 2 of the paper) are strongly correlated. The fully correlated uncertainties linked with the luminosity measurement ($3.5\%$) and branching fractions ($1.5\%$ and $2.1\%$ for $D^{*\pm}$ and $D^\pm$, respectively) are not shown.
The measured differential cross sections $\rm{d}\sigma/\rm{d}|\eta|$ of $D^{*\pm}$ and $D^\pm$ production with $3.5<p_T<20\,$GeV. The first and second errors are the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. The systematic uncertainty fractions corresponding to the tracking ($\delta_2$) uncertainties (Table 2 of the paper) are strongly correlated. The fully correlated uncertainties linked with the luminosity measurement ($3.5\%$) and branching fractions ($1.5\%$ and $2.1\%$ for $D^{*\pm}$ and $D^\pm$, respectively) are not shown.
The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb^-1 of pp collision data at sqrt(s)=7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96 +0.26 -0.30 at Q^2=1.9 GeV^2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio sigma(W^+ + bar{c})/sigma(W^- + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s-bar{s} quark asymmetry.
Measured integrated cross sections of the production of a W boson with a single c-jet, a D meson or a D* meson times the branching ratio W -> l nu in the fiducial regions together with the statistical and systematic uncertainties. For the W+c-jet cross sections events with more than one c-jet are discarded. The particle-level c-jet is defined as the one containing a weakly decaying c-hadron with pt>5 GeV, within DeltaR<0.3. Jets containing c-hadrons originating from b-hadron decays are not counted as c-jets. Jets are not required for the W+D/D* cross sections. The cross sections are defined for OS-SS events.
Measured integrated cross section ratios of the production of W+ and W- bosons associated with a single c-jet, a D meson or a D* meson in the fiducial regions together with the statistical and systematic uncertainties. For the W+c-jet cross sections events with more than one c-jet are discarded. The particle-level c-jet is defined as the one containing a weakly decaying c-hadron with pt>5 GeV, within DeltaR<0.3. Jets containing c-hadrons originating from b-hadron decays are not counted as c-jets. Jets are not required for the W+D/D* cross sections. The cross sections are defined for OS-SS events.
Measured differential cross sections as function of the lepton pseudo-rapidity of the production of a W boson with a single c-jet times the branching ratio W -> l nu in the fiducial regions together with the statistical and systematic uncertainties. For the W+c-jet cross sections events with more than one c-jet are discarded. The particle-level c-jet is defined as the one containing a weakly decaying c-hadron with pt>5 GeV, within DeltaR<0.3. Jets containing c-hadrons originating from b-hadron decays are not counted as c-jets. The cross sections are defined for OS-SS events.
Forum