Exclusive J/ψ Photoproduction off Protons in Ultraperipheral p-Pb Collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV

We present the first measurement at the LHC of exclusive J/psi photoproduction off protons, in ultraperipheral proton-lead collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV. Events are selected with a dimuon pair produced either in the rapidity interval, in the laboratory frame, 2.5 < y < 4 (p-Pb) or -3.6 < y < -2.6 (Pb-p), and no other particles observed in the ALICE acceptance. The measured cross sections sigma(gamma + p -> J/psi + p) are 33.2 +/- 2.2(stat) +/- 3.2(syst) +/- 0.7(theor) nb in p-Pb and 284 +/- 36(stat)(-32)(+27)(syst) +/- 26(theor) nb in Pb-p collisions. We measure this process up to about 700 GeV in the gamma p center of mass, which is a factor of two larger than the highest energy studied at HERA. The data are consistent with a power law dependence of the J/psi photoproduction cross section in gamma p energies from about 20 to 700 GeV, or equivalently, from Bjorken x scaling variable between similar to 2 x 10(-2) and similar to 2 x 10(-5), thus indicating no significant change in the gluon density behavior of the proton between HERA and LHC energies.