Abstract: Measuring cross-sections at the LHC requires the luminosity to be determined accurately at each centre-of-mass energy root s. In this paper results are reported from the luminosity calibrations carried out at the LHC interaction point 8 with the LHCb detector for root s = 2.76, 7 and 8TeV (proton-proton collisions) and for root s(NN) = 5TeV (proton-lead collisions). Both the “van der Meer scan” and “beam-gas imaging” luminosity calibration methods were employed. It is observed that the beam density profile cannot always be described by a function that is factorizable in the two transverse coordinates. The introduction of a two-dimensional description of the beams improves significantly the consistency of the results. For proton-proton interactions at root s = 8TeV a relative precision of the luminosity calibration of 1.47% is obtained using van der Meer scans and 1.43% using beam-gas imaging, resulting in a combined precision of 1.12%. Applying the calibration to the full data set determines the luminosity with a precision of 1.16%. This represents the most precise luminosity measurement achieved so far at a bunched-beam hadron collider.

Abstract: Momentum measurements for very high momentum charged particles, such as muons from electroweak vector boson decays, are particularly susceptible to charge-dependent curvature biases that arise from misalignments of tracking detectors. Low momentum charged particles used in alignment procedures have limited sensitivity to coherent displacements of such detectors, and therefore are unable to fully constrain these misalignments to the precision necessary for studies of electroweak physics. Additional approaches are therefore required to understand and correct for these effects. In this paper the curvature biases present at the LHCb detector are studied using the pseudomass method in proton-proton collision data recorded at centre of mass energy root s = 13 TeV during 2016, 2017 and 2018. The biases are determined using Z -> mu(+)mu(-) decays in intervals defined by the data-taking period, magnet polarity and muon direction. Correcting for these biases, which are typically at the 10(-4) GeV-1 level, improves the Z -> mu(+)mu(-) mass resolution by roughly 18% and eliminates several pathological trends in the kinematic-dependence of the mean dimuon invariant mass.

Abstract: Observations of exotic structures in the J/psi p channel, which we refer to as charmonium-pentaquark states, in Lambda(0)(b) --> J/psi K(-)p decays are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1) acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8 TeV pp collisions. An amplitude analysis of the three-body final state reproduces the two-body mass and angular distributions. To obtain a satisfactory fit of the structures seen in the J/psi p mass spectrum, it is necessary to include two Breit-Wigner amplitudes that each describe a resonant state. The significance of each of these resonances is more than 9 standard deviations. One has a mass of 4380 +/- 8 +/- 29 MeV and a width of 205 +/- 18 +/- 86 MeV, while the second is narrower, with a mass of 4449.8 +/- 1.7 +/- 2.5 MeV and a width of 39 +/- 5 +/- 19 MeV. The preferred J(P) assignments are of opposite parity, with one state having spin 3/2 and the other 5/2.

Abstract: Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from pp collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 5TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 8 : 60 +/- 0 : 33 pb(-1) collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of D-0, D+, D-s(+), and D*(+) mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, p(T), and rapidity, y. They cover the rapidity range 2 : 0 < y < 4 : 5 and transverse momentum ranges 0 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-0 and D+ and 1 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-s(+) and D*(+) mesons. The inclusive cross- sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of 1 < p(T) < 8 GeV/c are determined to be sigma (pp -> D-0 X) – 1004 +/- 3 +/- 54 μb; sigma ( pp -> D+ X) = 402 +/- 2 +/- 30 μb; sigma ( pp -> Ds+X) = 170 +/- 4 +/- 16 μb; sigma ( pp -> D*(+) X) = 421 +/- 5 +/- 36 μb; where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.

Abstract: Production of B-c(+) mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV is studied with data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.0 fb(-1) recorded by the LHCb experiment. The ratio of production cross sections times branching fractions between the B_c. J/psi pi(+) and B+ -> J/psi K+ decays is measured as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity in the regions 0 < p(T) < 20 GeV/c and 2.0 < y < 4.5. The ratio in this kinematic range is measured to be (0.683 +/- 0.018 +/- 0.009)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.