Lambda_c^+ production in polarized pp scattering and polarized gluon distribution

Abstract

To extract information about the polarized gluon distribution, $\dg$, in the nucleons, we propose Lambda_c^+ productions in polarized pp scattering, p + \vec{p} \to \vec{Lambda_c^+} + X, which will be observed at RHIC experiment starting soon. For this process, we have calculated the spin correlation differential cross section, dΔσ/d\pt, and the spin correlation asymmetry defined by \A_ll \equiv [ d Δσ/ d \pt ] / [ d σ/ d\pt ]. We have found that the \A_ll is sensitive to the polarized gluon distribution in the nucleon and thus the process is promising for testing ΔG(x,Q^2).