Measurement of the multiplicity dependence of charm production in proton--proton collisions at s=7 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the CERN-LHC
Abstract
Potential of the charm quark as a probe to study the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) is best harnessed when its production mechanisms are disentangled from its propagation through the QGP. Proton-proton (pp) collisions help us to study charmed hadron production mechanisms. The measurement of D-meson yields in pp collisions as a function of the multiplicity of produced particles allows one to gain some insight into the processes occurring in the collision at a microscopic level. Here, the preliminary results are presented from this measurement at s = 7 TeV. The analysis strategy, the applied corrections, and the determination of the systematic uncertainties are described. The preliminary results are presented and compared with those from a similar, published, measurement of J/ production.