Measurement of σ(pp→bb¯X) at s=7 TeV in the forward region

Decays of b hadrons into final states containing a D0 meson and a muon are used to measure the bb¯ production cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. In the pseudorapidity interval 2<η<6 and integrated over all transverse momenta we find that the average cross-section to produce b-flavoured or b¯-flavoured hadrons is (75.3±5.4±13.0)μb.