Probing the pion-gluon distribution at small x in photon-induced interactions at the LHC
Abstract
In this paper, we propose the analysis of the heavy quark photoproduction associated with a leading neutron in hadronic collisions at the LHC as an alternative to probe the pion gluon distribution in a kinematical range not covered by previous experiments. We perform an exploratory study of the charm and bottom photoproduction associated with a leading neutron in proton-proton ( p p ) and proton-lead ( p P b ) collisions, and present calculations for the rapidity distributions and cross sections. Our predictions indicate that experimental studies of these processes are feasible, and that a future measurement of this final state will be useful to constrain the pion gluon distribution at small values of the Bjorken x variable and to improve our understanding of the pion structure.
Fields of Study & Subjects
High-Energy Particle Collisions Research
Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies
Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 5
- Publication date
- 23 February 2026
- Language
- EN