The cross-section for inclusive phi meson production in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV has been measured with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The differential cross-section is measured as a function of the phi transverse momentum p_T and rapidity y in the region 0.6 < p_T < 5.0 GeV/c and 2.44 < y < 4.06. The cross-section for inclusive phi production in this kinematic range is sigma(pp -> phi X) = 1758 pm 19(stat) ^{+43}_{-14}(syst) pm 182(scale) microbarn, where the first systematic uncertainty depends on the p_T and y region and the second is related to the overall scale. Predictions based on the Pythia 6.4 generator underestimate the cross-section.
The production of B+- mesons in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV is studied using 35 pb-1 of data collected by the LHCb detector. The B+- mesons are reconstructed exclusively in the B+- -> J/psi K+- mode, with J/psi -> mu+ mu-. The differential production cross-section is measured as a function of the B+- transverse momentum in the fiducial region 0 < pT < 40 GeV/c and with rapidity 2.0 < y < 4.5. The total cross-section, summing up B+ and B-, is measured to be sigma(pp -> B+- X, 0 < pT < 40 GeV/c, 2.0 < y < 4.5) = 41.4 +- 1.5 (stat.) +- 3.1 (syst.) mub.
The production cross-sections of $J/\psi$ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=5$ TeV are measured using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9.13\pm0.18~\text{pb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment. The cross-sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\text{T}}$, and rapidity, $y$, and separately for $J/\psi$ mesons produced promptly and from beauty hadron decays (nonprompt). With the assumption of unpolarised $J/\psi$ mesons, the production cross-sections integrated over the kinematic range $0<p_{\text{T}}<20~\text{GeV}/c$ and $2.0<y<4.5$ are $8.154\pm0.010\pm0.283~\mu\text{b}$ for prompt $J/\psi$ mesons and $0.820\pm0.003\pm0.034~\mu\text{b}$ for nonprompt $J/\psi$ mesons, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These cross-sections are compared with those at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV and $13$ TeV, and are used to update the measurement of the nuclear modification factor in proton-lead collisions for $J/\psi$ mesons at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=5$ TeV. The results are compared with theoretical predictions.
A precision measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV in the forward region is presented, using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 fb$^{-1}$. The production cross-section is measured using $Z\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-$ events within the fiducial region defined as pseudorapidity $2.0<\eta<4.5$ and transverse momentum $p_{T}>20$ GeV/$c$ for both muons and dimuon invariant mass $60<M_{\mu\mu}<120$ GeV/$c^2$. The integrated cross-section is determined to be $\sigma (Z \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-)$ = 196.4 $\pm$ 0.2 $\pm$ 1.6 $\pm$ 3.9~pb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the luminosity determination. The measured results are in agreement with theoretical predictions within uncertainties.
The production of Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S) and Upsilon(3S) mesons decaying into the dimuon final state is studied with the LHCb detector using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.3 pb^{-1} collected in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt{s}=2.76 TeV. The differential production cross-sections times dimuon branching fractions are measured as functions of the Upsilon transverse momentum and rapidity, over the ranges p_T<15 GeV/c and 2.0<y<4.5. The total cross-sections in this kinematic region, assuming unpolarised production, are measured to be sigma(pp -> Upsilon(1S) X) x B(Upsilon(1S) -> mu+mu-) = 1.111 +/- 0.043 +/- 0.044 nb, sigma(pp -> Upsilon(2S) X) x B(Upsilon(2S) -> mu+mu-) = 0.264 +/- 0.023 +/- 0.011 nb, sigma(pp -> Upsilon(3S) X) x B(Upsilon(3S) -> mu+mu-) = 0.159 +/- 0.020 +/- 0.007 nb, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.
A measurement of the $Z(\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-)$+jet production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV is presented. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of $1.0\,\text{fb}^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. Results are shown with two jet transverse momentum thresholds, 10 and 20 GeV, for both the overall cross-section within the fiducial volume, and for six differential cross-section measurements. The fiducial volume requires that both the jet and the muons from the Z boson decay are produced in the forward direction ($2.0<\eta<4.5$). The results show good agreement with theoretical predictions at the second-order expansion in the coupling of the strong interaction.
The production of $\Upsilon$ mesons in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt=7$ and $8\,\mathrm{TeV}$ is studied with the LHCb detector using data samples corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $1\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ and $2\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ respectively. The production cross-sections and ratios of cross-sections are measured as functions of the meson transverse momentum $p_T$ and rapidity $y$, for $p_T<30\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$} and $2.0<y<4.5$.
The production of $\Upsilon (nS)$ mesons ($n=1,2,3$) in $p$Pb and Pb$p$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8.16$ TeV is measured by the LHCb experiment, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 31.8 nb$^{-1}$. The $\Upsilon (nS)$ mesons are reconstructed through their decays into two opposite-sign muons. The measurements comprise the differential production cross-sections of the $\Upsilon (1S)$ and $\Upsilon (2S)$ states, their forward-to-backward ratios and nuclear modification factors, performed as a function of the transverse momentum $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ and rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass frame $y^*$ of the $\Upsilon (nS)$ states, in the kinematic range $p_{\rm{T}}<25$ GeV/$c$ and $1.5<y^*<4.0$ ($-5.0<y^*<-2.5$) for $p$Pb (Pb$p$) collisions. In addition, production cross-sections for $\Upsilon (3S)$ are measured integrated over phase space and the production ratios between all three $\Upsilon (nS)$ states are determined. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and suppressions for quarkonium in $p$Pb collisions are observed.
The production of $J/\psi$ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is studied with the \lhcb detector. Cross-section measurements are performed as a function of the transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}$ and the rapidity $y$ of the $J/\psi$ meson in the region $p_\mathrm{T}<14\mathrm{GeV}/c$ and $2.0<y<4.5$, for both prompt $J/\psi$ mesons and $J/\psi$ mesons from $b$-hadron decays. The production cross-sections integrated over the kinematic coverage are $15.03\pm 0.03\pm 0.94$ $\mu$b for prompt $J/\psi$ and $2.25\pm 0.01\pm 0.14$ $\mu$b for $J/\psi$ from $b$-hadron decays, assuming zero polarization of the $J/\psi$ meson. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The cross-section reported for $J/\psi$ mesons from $b$-hadron decays is used to extrapolate to a total $b\bar{b}$ cross-section. The ratios of the cross-sections with respect to $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV are also determined.
Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $2.0\,fb^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment, the production of the $\eta_c(1S)$ state in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13 \text{ TeV}$ is studied in the rapidity range ${2.0 < y < 4.5}$ and in the transverse momentum range ${6.5 < p_{T} < 14.0\text{ GeV}}$. The cross-section for prompt production of $\eta_c(1S)$ mesons relative to that of the $J/\psi$ meson is measured using the ${p\bar{p}}$ decay mode and is found to be ${\sigma_{\eta_c(1S)}/\sigma_{J/\psi} = 1.69 \pm 0.15 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.18}$. The quoted uncertainties are, in order, statistical, systematic and due to uncertainties on the branching fractions of the ${J/\psi\to p \bar{p}}$ and ${\eta_c\to p \bar{p}}$ decays. The prompt $\eta_c(1S)$ production cross-section is determined to be ${\sigma_{\eta_c(1S)} = 1.26 \pm 0.11\pm 0.08 \pm 0.14 \,\mu b}$, where the last uncertainty includes that on the ${J/\psi}$ meson cross-section. The ratio of the branching fractions of $b$-hadron decays to the $\eta_c(1S)$ and ${J/\psi}$ states is measured to be ${\mathcal{B}_{b\to\eta_c X}/\mathcal{B}_{b\to J/\psi X} = 0.48 \pm 0.03 \pm 0.03 \pm 0.05}$, where the last uncertainty is due to those on the branching fractions of the ${J/\psi \to p \bar{p}}$ and ${\eta_c\to p \bar{p}}$ decays. The difference between the ${J/\psi}$ and $\eta_c(1S)$ masses is also determined to be ${113.0 \pm 0.7 \pm 0.1\text{ MeV}}$, which is the most precise single measurement of this quantity to date.