J/ψ -pair production at large momenta: Indications for double parton scatterings and large αs5 contributions

We demonstrate that the recent studies of J/ψJ/ψ-pair production by CMS at the LHC and by D0 at the Tevatron reveal the presence of different production mechanisms in different kinematical regions. We find out that next-to-leading-order single parton scattering contributions at αs5 dominate the yield at large transverse momenta of the pair. Our analysis further emphasises the importance of double parton scatterings – which are expected to dominate the yield at large J/ψJ/ψ-rapidity differences – at large invariant masses of the pair in the CMS acceptance, and thereby solve a large discrepancy between the theory and the CMS data. In addition, we provide the first exact – gauge-invariant and infrared-safe – evaluation of a class of leading-PTPT (PT−4) next-to-next-to-leading-order contributions at αs6, which can be relevant in the region of large values of PTmin=min⁡(PT1,PT2)PTmin=min⁡(PT1,PT2). Finally, we derive simple relations for the feed-down fractions from the production of an excited charmonium state with a J/ψJ/ψ in the case of the dominance of the double parton scatterings, which significantly deviate from those for single parton scatterings. Such relations can be used to discriminate these extreme scenarios, either DPS or SPS dominance.