Diffractive χ production at the Tevatron and the LHC

We present predictions for the diffractive production of chi mesons in the central rapidity region usually covered by collider detectors. The predicted cross sections are based on the Bialas-Landshoff formalism for both exclusive and inclusive productions and make use of the DPEMC Monte Carlo simulation adapted with kinematics appropriate for small-mass diffractive production. We compare generator-level results with a CDF measurement for exclusive chi production, and study background and other scenarios including the contribution of inclusive chi production. The results agree with the Tevatron data and are extrapolated, highlighting the exclusive chi(co) production at LHC energies. A possible new measurement at the Tevatron using the D empty set forward detectors is investigated, taking advantage of the dominance of exclusive production for high enough diffractive mass fraction. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.