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Measurement of antiproton production from antihyperon decays in pHe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=110$ GeV

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Abstract

The interpretation of cosmic antiproton flux measurements from space-borne experiments is currently limited by the knowledge of the antiproton production cross-section in collisions between primary cosmic rays and the interstellar medium. Using collisions of protons with an energy of 6.5 TeV incident on helium nuclei at rest in the proximity of the interaction region of the LHCb experiment, the ratio of antiprotons originating from antihyperon decays to prompt production is measured for antiproton momenta between 12 and 110 GeV/c. The dominant antihyperon contribution, namely $\bar{\Lambda} \to \bar{p} \pi^+$ decays from promptly produced $\bar{\Lambda}$ particles, is also exclusively measured. The results complement the measurement of prompt antiproton production obtained from the same data sample. At the energy scale of this measurement, the antihyperon contributions to antiproton production are observed to be significantly larger than predictions of commonly used hadronic production models.

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Invariant-mass distribution for the $\overline{ \Lambda} \rightarrow \overline p \pi ^+ $ candidates selected in the $ p {\rm He}$ data. The fit model is overlaid on the data.

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Normalised distributions of the production vertex $z$ coordinate for simulated prompt and detached $\overline p $ in $ p {\rm He}$ collisions and for prompt $\overline p $ in simulated $ p $ $ p $ collisions in the kinematic range explored in this paper. The PV fiducial region for $ p {\rm He}$ collisions is $-700 < z < 100$ $\text{ mm}$ .

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VELO tracking efficiency for $\overline p $ in $\overline{ \Lambda} \rightarrow \overline p \pi ^+ $ decays as a function of (top left) the particle momentum, (top right) the transverse momentum, (bottom left) the production vertex $z$ coordinate and (bottom right) the number of reconstructed long tracks in the event.

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Measured $ R_{\overline{ \Lambda} }$ in each of the considered $ p$ and $ p_{\mathrm{T}}$ intervals.

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Measured $ R_{\overline{ \Lambda} }$ as a function of (top) the $\overline p $ momentum for $0.55< p_{\mathrm{T}} <1.2$ $\text{ Ge V /}c$ and (bottom) the $\overline p $ transverse momentum for $12< p <50.5$ $\text{ Ge V /}c$ . The measurement is compared to the predictions, in the same kinematic regions, from the Epos 1.99 [34], Epos-lhc [23], Hijing 1.38 [35] and Pythia 6 [36] models, included in the Crmc package [27]. Error bars on data represent the total uncertainty.

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Distributions of the $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ variable for all simulated antiprotons in the $\overline p $ -enriched simulated sample. The contributions from prompt, detached and antiprotons produced in the detector material are separately shown.

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Distributions of $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ for (top) prompt and (bottom) detached antiprotons in the $\overline p $ -enriched simulated sample for a kinematic interval in the central region of the considered phase-space. The fit model is overlaid on the data.

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Distributions of the $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ variable in the data sample integrated over all kinematic intervals. The fit model is overlaid on the data.

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Normalised distributions of the prompt $\overline p $ $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ variable in different ranges of the azimuthal angle $\phi=\text{atan}(p_y/p_x)$.

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Sketch of the VELO [37], where the aluminium foils crossed by the particles before entering the VELO volume is visible. The crossed material is maximum for $|\phi| > 1$.

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Invariant-mass distributions for the $\overline{ \Lambda} (1520) \rightarrow \overline p K ^+ $ candidates selected in the $ p {\rm Ne}$ data within two intervals of the $\overline p $ $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ variable. The fit model is overlaid on the data.

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Distributions of the number of signal candidates determined in each interval of the antiproton $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ compared to the prediction of the $ p {\rm He}$ simulation for selected prompt antiprotons.

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Distribution of the $\log(\chi^2_{\text{IP}} )$ variable in the data sample integrated over all kinematic intervals modelled with independent components for $\overline{ \Sigma } {}^-$ decays (labelled as $\overline p $ from $\overline{ \Sigma } {}^-$ ) and all other antihyperon decays ( $\overline p $ from $\overline{ \Lambda}$ ).

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Invariant-mass distribution for the $\overline{ \Xi } ^+ \rightarrow \overline{ \Lambda} \pi ^+ $ candidates selected in the $ p {\rm He}$ data. The fit model is overlaid on the data.

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Measured $ R_{\overline{ H} }$ in each of the considered $ p$ and $ p_{\mathrm{T}}$ intervals.

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Measured $ R_{\overline{ H} }$ as a function of (top) the $\overline p $ momentum for $0.4< p_{\mathrm{T}} <4\text{ Ge V /}c $ and (bottom) the $\overline p $ transverse momentum for $12< p <110\text{ Ge V /}c $. The measurement is compared to predictions, in the same kinematic regions, from the Epos 1.99 [34], Epos-lhc [23], Hijing 1.38 [35], Pythia 6 [36] and Qgsjet-ii04 [39] models, included in the Crmc package [27]. Error bars on data represent the total uncertainty.

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Fraction of antiprotons from decays of promptly produced $\overline{ \Lambda}$ particles to the total yield of detached antiprotons as a function of (top) their momentum for $0.55< p_{\mathrm{T}} <1.2\text{ Ge V /}c $ and (bottom) their transverse momentum for $12< p <50.5\text{ Ge V /}c $. The data are compared to the Epos-lhc [23] prediction for this quantity. Error bars on data represent the total uncertainty.

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Animated gif made out of all figures.

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Tables and captions

Selection requirements for $\overline{ \Lambda} \rightarrow \overline p \pi ^+ $ decays. Symbols are defined in the text.

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Relative uncertainties on the $ R_{\overline{ \Lambda} }$ measurement.

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Relative uncertainties on the $ R_{\overline{ H} }$ measurement.

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Measured $ R_{\overline{ H} }$ and $ R_{\overline{ \Lambda} }$ ratios in intervals of the antiproton momentum and transverse momentum, measured in $\text{ Ge V /}c$ units. The average momentum and transverse momentum, as predicted by the Epos-lhc generator for prompt antiprotons, are also listed for each interval in $\text{ Ge V /}c$ units. The uncertainty is split into an uncorrelated component, denoted with $\delta _{\text{uncorr}} $, and a component that is fully correlated among the kinematic intervals, denoted $\delta _{\text{corr}} $.

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Created on 20 April 2024.