B-meson production at forward rapidities in pp collisions at the LHC: estimating the intrinsic bottom contribution

Abstract The production of B mesons at forward rapidities is strongly sensitive to the behavior of the gluon and bottom distribution functions for small and large values of the Bjorken- x variable. In this exploratory study, we estimate the cross-section for the $$B^{\pm }$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> </mml:msup> </mml:math> meson production in the kinematic range probed by the LHCb detector and that will be analyzed by the future Forward Physics Facility (FPF) considering the hybrid formalism, the solution of the running coupling Balitsky–Kovchegov equation and distinct descriptions for the bottom distribution function. We assume an ansatz for the intrinsic bottom component in the proton wave function, and estimate its impact on the transverse momentum, rapidity and Feynman- x distributions. Our results indicate that the presence of an intrinsic bottom strongly modifies the magnitude of the cross-section at ultra-forward rapidities ( $$y \ge 6$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>y</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≥</mml:mo> <mml:mn>6</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ), which implies an enhancement of the $$B^{\pm }$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> </mml:msup> </mml:math> production at the FPF. Possible implications on the prompt neutrino flux at ultra-high energies are also briefly discussed.