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Exclusive process γγ→J/ψ+γ production in ultraperipheral proton and nuclear collisions at the HL-LHC and FCC

Meng-Kun Jia1, Xiao-Bo Jin2, Kui-Yong Liu3,1,*, and Guang-Zhi Xu1,†

  • *Contact author: liukuiyong@lnu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: xuguangzhi@lnu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 116032 – Published 22 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xhrt-bv93

Abstract

We present a next-to-leading-order (NLO) analysis of exclusive J/ψ+γ production via photon-photon fusion in ultraperipheral collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) and the Future Circular Collider (FCC). The study is performed within the nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics factorization framework for proton-proton, proton-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions, with nuclear species spanning a wide range of nuclear charges (O, Ca, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Pb), enabling a systematic investigation of nuclear effects on the production cross sections. The photon fluxes are modeled using an electric-dipole form factor, with the impact-parameter dependence strictly enforced to ensure the exclusivity of the process. We present predictions for total cross sections and kinematic distributions at leading order and NLO. With a transverse momentum cut of pT>2  GeV, the NLO corrections reduce the cross section by approximately 35% at the central scale. The associated theoretical uncertainties are systematically estimated via renormalization scale variations. Despite this suppression, the cross sections remain sizable and indicate that exclusive J/ψ+γ production serves as a sensitive probe of photon-induced quarkonium production mechanisms. We thus present the corresponding event yields predicted for the HL-LHC and the FCC.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 116032– Published 22 June, 2026
  • Received 8 April 2026
  • Accepted 5 June 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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