On the total charm production cross section in hadronic interactions at high energies

Abstract

Results of processing experimental data on charm production in hadron–hadron interactions are presented. The paper discusses three channels of charm production: (1) single diffractive dissociation, (2) double diffractive dissociation, (3) hard processes. The analysis of single diffractive dissociation is carried out within the frame of the phenomenological model of diffractive production and quark statistics based on the additive quark model (AQM). In a low-energy region , the cross sections are fitted by a logarithmic function with parameters connected by the AQM relationship. At collider energies of 200, 540, 900, 1800 GeV, the values of were obtained by a quark statistics method from the data on diffractive dissociation. The estimation of the double diffractive dissociation contribution is carried out by the same method. The expected contribution of hard processes is estimated on the basis of TEVATRON data on dσ/dp⊥ at , 5.5 ⩽ p⊥ ⩽ 16 GeV. The expected values of cross sections are at TEVATRON energy and at LHC energy . Opportunities of the use of the obtained results for calibration of a flux of ‘prompt’ muons in the high-energy component of cosmic rays are discussed.