Study of the production of $Λ_b^0$ and $\overline{B}^0$ hadrons in $pp$ collisions and first measurement of the $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpK^-$ branching fraction
The product of the $Λ_b^0$ ($\overline{B}^0$) differential production cross-section and the branching fraction of the decay $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpK^-$ ($\overline{B}^0\rightarrow J/ψ\overline{K}^*(892)^0$) is measured as a function of the beauty hadron transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, and rapidity, $y$. The kinematic region of the measurements is $p_{\rm T}<20~{\rm GeV}/c$ and $2.0<y<4.5$. The measurements use a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3~{\rm fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb detector in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s}=7~{\rm TeV}$ in 2011 and $\sqrt{s}=8~{\rm TeV}$ in 2012. Based on previous LHCb results of the fragmentation fraction ratio, $f_{Λ_B^0}/f_d$, the branching fraction of the decay $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpK^-$ is measured to be \begin{equation*} \mathcal{B}(Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpK^-)= (3.17\pm0.04\pm0.07\pm0.34^{+0.45}_{-0.28})\times10^{-4}, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, the third is due to the uncertainty on the branching fraction of the decay $\overline{B}^0\rightarrow J/ψ\overline{K}^*(892)^0$, and the fourth is due to the knowledge of $f_{Λ_b^0}/f_d$. The sum of the asymmetries in the production and decay between $Λ_b^0$ and $\overlineΛ_b^0$ is also measured as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ and $y$. The previously published branching fraction of $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpπ^-$, relative to that of $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψpK^-$, is updated. The branching fractions of $Λ_b^0\rightarrow P_c^+(\rightarrow J/ψp)K^-$ are determined.