Study of Z Bosons Produced in Association with Charm in the Forward Region

Abstract

Events containing a Z boson and a charm jet are studied for the first time in the forward region of proton-proton collisions. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb-1 collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. In events with a Z boson and a jet, the fraction of charm jets is determined in intervals of Z-boson rapidity in the range 2.0<y(Z)<4.5. A sizable enhancement is observed in the forwardmost y(Z) interval, which could be indicative of a valencelike intrinsic-charm component in the proton wave function.