[Paper Review] Fragmentation of Triply Heavy Baryons

M. A. Gomshi Nobari, Reza Sepahvand|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jun 14, 2004

Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies3 citations

TL;DR

This paper calculates the leading-order fragmentation functions of triply heavy baryons (Ω_{ccc}, Ω_{ccb}, Ω_{cbb}, Ω_{bbb}) produced via direct c and b quark fragmentation in the Standard Model. It reports universal fragmentation probabilities in the range of 10⁻⁵–10⁻⁷ and estimates their LHC production cross sections at √s = 14 TeV, ranging from a few nb to a few pb using next-to-leading order matrix elements.

ABSTRACT

The triply heavy baryons in the standard model formed in direct $c$ and $b$ quark fragmentation are the $\Omega_{ccc}$, $\Omega_{ccb}$, $\Omega_{cbb}$ and $\Omega_{bbb}$ baryons. We calculate their fragmentation functions in leading order of perturbative QCD. The universal fragmentation probabilities fall within the range of $10^{-5}-10^{-7}$.We also evaluate their cross section at the LHC ($\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV) using next-to-leading order matrix elements for heavy quark-antiquark pair production. We present the differential cross sections as functions of the transverse momentum as well as the total cross sections. They range from a few nb to a few pb.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate the production mechanisms of triply heavy baryons via direct quark fragmentation in high-energy hadron collisions.
• To determine the fragmentation probabilities of c and b quarks into triply heavy baryons within perturbative QCD.
• To evaluate the differential and total production cross sections of these baryons at the LHC using next-to-leading order matrix elements.
• To provide quantitative estimates of observable yields for future experimental detection at high-energy colliders.

Proposed method

• Calculates leading-order fragmentation functions for c and b quarks forming triply heavy baryons using perturbative QCD techniques.
• Applies universal fragmentation probabilities derived from fragmentation functions to estimate production rates.
• Uses next-to-leading order matrix elements for heavy quark-antiquark pair production to compute cross sections at √s = 14 TeV.
• Evaluates differential cross sections as functions of transverse momentum and integrates to obtain total cross sections.
• Considers all four triply heavy baryons: Ω_{ccc}, Ω_{ccb}, Ω_{cbb}, and Ω_{bbb} in the analysis.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What are the fragmentation probabilities of c and b quarks into triply heavy baryons in leading-order perturbative QCD?
• RQ2 How do the differential cross sections of triply heavy baryons vary with transverse momentum at the LHC?
• RQ3 What are the total production cross sections for Ω_{ccc}, Ω_{ccb}, Ω_{cbb}, and Ω_{bbb} at √s = 14 TeV?
• RQ4 How do next-to-leading order matrix elements affect the accuracy of cross section estimates for these rare states?

Key findings

• The universal fragmentation probabilities for triply heavy baryons into c and b quark jets lie within the range of 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻⁷.
• Differential cross sections for these baryons are computed as functions of transverse momentum at the LHC center-of-mass energy of 14 TeV.
• Total production cross sections for the studied triply heavy baryons range from a few nanobarns to a few picobarns.
• The cross sections are estimated using next-to-leading order matrix elements for heavy quark-antiquark pair production.
• The results provide quantitative benchmarks for the potential detection of these exotic baryons in high-energy hadron collisions.