Evidence for modification of $b$ quark hadronization in high-multiplicity $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV
hep-ex
/ Authors
LHCb collaboration, R. Aaij, A. S. W. Abdelmotteleb, C. Abellan Beteta, F. Abudinén, T. Ackernley, B. Adeva, M. Adinolfi, H. Afsharnia, C. Agapopoulou
and 1003 more authors
C. A. Aidala, S. Aiola, Z. Ajaltouni, S. Akar, K. Akiba, J. Albrecht, F. Alessio, M. Alexander, A. Alfonso Albero, Z. Aliouche, P. Alvarez Cartelle, S. Amato, J. L. Amey, Y. Amhis, L. An, L. Anderlini, M. Andersson, A. Andreianov, M. Andreotti, D. Andreou, D. Ao, F. Archilli, A. Artamonov, M. Artuso
/ Abstract
The production rate of $B^{0}_{s}$ mesons relative to $B^{0}$ mesons is measured by the LHCb experiment in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV over the forward rapidity interval $2<y<4.5$ as a function of the charged particle multiplicity measured in the event. Evidence at the 3.4$σ$ level is found for an increase of the ratio of $B^{0}_{s}$ to $B^{0}$ cross-sections with multiplicity at transverse momenta below 6 GeV/$c$, with no significant multiplicity dependence at higher transverse momentum. Comparison with data from $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions implies that the density of the hadronic medium may affect the production rates of $B$ mesons. This is qualitatively consistent with the emergence of quark coalescence as an additional hadronization mechanism in high-multiplicity collisions.