Event-activity dependent production of strange and non-strange charmed baryons in the enhanced color-reconnection scheme

Abstract

We investigated the production of charmed baryons with different isospin and strangeness content, compared to both charmed $D^0$ mesons and to the $\Lambda_c^+$ baryon in proton--proton collisions at LHC energies. We used the PYTHIA 8 Monte Carlo event generator with color-reconnection beyond leading color approximation and proposed methods based on event-activity classifiers to probe the source of the charm baryon enhancement. We conclude that in the considered model class, the isospin of the charmed baryon state has a strong impact on the enhancement pattern. Using the observables we propose, upcoming high-precision experimental data will be able to differentiate between mechanisms of strangeness and charm enhancement.