Associated $Z$ + $J/ψ$ production as a probe of multiparton interactions in the forward region

Abstract

This letter reports a study of associated $Z$ boson and prompt $J/ψ$ production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the LHCb detector in the forward rapidity region, using a data sample taken during 2016 to 2018 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.1 \mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The measured fiducial cross-section is $5.5 \pm 1.5$ pb, significantly exceeding the single-parton scattering expectation of $0.10 \pm 0.08$ pb, indicating that multiparton interactions dominate this process in the explored phase space. Interpreted within the standard double-parton scattering framework, the data yields an effective cross-section $σ_{\mathrm{eff}} = 16.6 \pm 4.7$ mb. This provides a direct experimental constraint on the transverse spatial structure of the proton in a kinematic regime characterized simultaneously by small Bjorken-$x$ and an electroweak hard scale set by the $Z$ boson mass.