Ds+ meson production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV

Abstract

The differential inclusive production cross section of the prompt charm-strange meson Ds+ in the rapidity range |y| < 0.5 is measured in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV at the LHC with the ALICE detector. The analysis is performed on a data sample of 2.98 × 10^8 events corresponding to an integrated luminosity of L_int = 4.8 nb^−1. The decay Ds+ → φπ+, with φ → K−K+, is reconstructed, and about 480 Ds± mesons are counted. The results are compared with perturbative QCD model predictions. Ratios of cross sections of four D meson species (D0, D+, D*+, Ds+) are determined. The findings are consistent with other experiments (e+e−, ep, pp) and contribute to the understanding of the strangeness suppression factor in charm fragmentation.