In the realm of high-energy physics, a group of researchers from the Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil, Francesco G. Celiberto, André V. Giannini, Victor P. Gonçalves, and Yuri N. Lima, have delved into the intriguing world of tetraquark production in proton-proton (pp) collisions. Their work, recently published in the journal Physical Review D, explores the creation of a fully charmed tetraquark state, denoted as T4c, at the forward rapidities of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the future Future Circular Collider (FCC).
The researchers employed the Color Glass Condensate (CGC) formalism and the running coupling Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) equation to investigate the production mechanisms of the T4c state. They considered both gluon- and charm-initiated processes and estimated the impact of an intrinsic charm component in the proton’s wave function. The study presents predictions for the transverse momentum distribution of the T4c state, taking into account different rapidities, distinct quantum numbers of the state, and varying center-of-mass energies.
The findings indicate that the highest cross-section is associated with the production of a tensor state T4c(2++) and is dominated by the gluon-initiated process. In contrast, the production of the axial-vector state T4c(1+-) is primarily driven by the charm-initiated process and is highly sensitive to the presence of intrinsic charm in the proton’s wave function.
For the energy sector, particularly in the realm of particle accelerators and high-energy physics research, this study provides valuable insights into the production mechanisms of exotic hadronic states. Understanding these processes can contribute to the development of more efficient and effective particle colliders, which in turn can drive advancements in energy research and technology. The practical applications of this research extend to improving the design and operation of particle accelerators, enhancing our ability to explore the fundamental building blocks of the universe, and potentially unlocking new sources of energy.
Source: Physical Review D, “Fully charmed tetraquark production in forward rapidity pp collisions at LHC and FCC energies” by Francesco G. Celiberto, André V. Giannini, Victor P. Gonçalves, and Yuri N. Lima.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.