Measurement of σ(pp → bb X) at √s = 7 TeV in the forward region

Abstract

Decays of b hadrons into final states containing a D0 meson and a muon are used to measure the bb production cross-section in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. In the pseudorapidity interval 2 < η < 6 and integrated over all transverse momenta we find that the average cross-section to produce b-flavoured or b-flavoured hadrons is (75.3±5.4±13.0) μb.