Measurement of the production cross section of prompt Ξc0 baryons at midrapidity in pp collisions at √s = 5.02 TeV

The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section of the charm-strange baryon Ξc0 is measured at midrapidity (|y| < 0.5) via its semileptonic decay into e+Ξ−νe in pp collisions at s = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The ratio of the pT-differential Ξc0-baryon and D0-meson production cross sections is also reported. The measurements are compared with simulations with different tunes of the PYTHIA 8 event generator, with predictions from a statistical hadronisation model (SHM) with a largely augmented set of charm-baryon states beyond the current lists of the Particle Data Group, and with models including hadronisation via quark coalescence. The pT-integrated cross section of prompt Ξc0-baryon production at midrapidity is also reported, which is used to calculate the baryon-to-meson ratio Ξc0/D0 = 0.20 ± 0.04 (stat.)−0.07+0.08 (syst.). These results provide an additional indication of a modification of the charm fragmentation from e+e− and e−p collisions to pp collisions. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s).