Exclusive γγ → < sup > + < /sup > μμ < sup > - < /sup > production in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract

A measurement of the exclusive two-photon production of muon pairs in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7TeV, pp → pμ +μ -p, is reported using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 40 pb -1. For muon pairs with invariant mass greater than 11:5 GeV, transverse momentum p (μ) > 4 GeV and pseudorapidity σ(μ) < 2:1, a t to the dimuon pT(μ +μ -) distribution results in a measured cross section of η(p → pμ +μ -p) = 3:38 +0:580:55 (stat:)±0:16 (syst:)±0:14 (lumi:) pb, consistent with the theoretical prediction evaluated with the event generator Lpair. The ratio to the predicted cross section is 0:83 +0:14 - 0:13 (stat:) ± 0:04 (syst:) ± 0:03 (lumi:). The characteristic distributions of the muon pairs produced via fusion, such as the muon acoplanarity, the muon pair invariant mass and transverse momentum agree with those from the theory. Copyright © CERN.