Heavy-quarkonium production in high energy proton-proton collisions at RHIC

Abstract

We update the study of the total Psi and Upsilon production cross section in proton-proton collisions at RHIC energies using the QCD-based Color-Singlet (CS) Model, including next-to-leading order partonic matrix elements. We also include charm-quark initiated processes which appear at leading order in alpha_s, but which have so far been overlooked in such studies. Contrary to earlier claims, we show that the CS yield is consistent with measurements over a broad range of J/Psi rapidities. We also find that charm-quark initiated processes, including both intrinsic and sea-like charm components, typically contribute at least 20% of the direct J/Psi yield, improving the agreement with data both for the integrated cross section and its rapidity dependence. The key signature for such processes is the observation of a charm-quark jet opposite in azimuthal angle phi to the detected J/Psi. Our results have impact on the proper interpretation of heavy-quarkonium production in heavy-ion collisions and its use as a probe for the quark-gluon plasma.