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  • Open Access

Open charm production and Λc+/D0 ratio in pp and Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV

Bijun Fan and Shusu Shi*

Chao Zhang†

Liang Zheng‡

  • *Contact author: shiss@ccnu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: chaoz@whut.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: zhengliang@cug.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. C 113, 064904 – Published 11 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/519h-2vrc

Abstract

We study open-charm hadrons production in pp and Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV using an improved multiphase transport (AMPT) model. Specifically, we show the transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear modification factors RAA of D0 mesons and Λc+ baryons, as well as the Λc+/D0 ratio in pp and Au+Au collisions. The results obtained from the AMPT model simulations are compared with the STAR experimental data and found to be consistent. We further investigate the Λc+/D0 ratio by evaluating contributions from coalescence, fragmentation, and the combined coalescence+fragmentation mechanisms, and we find that fragmentation alone underestimates the pronounced enhancement in Au+Au relative to pp at low and intermediate pT, whereas the coalescence+fragmentation mechanism reproduces the observed trend significantly better. These results indicate that coalescence plays a key role in charm-baryon productions and helps constrain the relative importance of different hadronization mechanisms in the ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.

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Phys. Rev. C 113, 064904– Published 11 June, 2026
  • Received 18 January 2026
  • Accepted 4 May 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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