Λ_b⁰-baryon production in pp collisions in the general-mass variable-flavour-number scheme and comparison with CMS and LHCb data

We calculate the next-to-leading-order cross section for the inclusive production of $\Lambda_b$ baryons in pp collisions in the general-mass variable-flavor-number scheme. We use realistic evolved non-perturbative fragmentation functions obtained from fits to B-meson production in $e^+ e^-$ annihilation and compare our results for transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions with recent experimental data from the CMS and the LHCb collaborations at the CERN LHC. We find satisfactory agreement in general, with some indication for the need to modify the available fragmentation functions at larger values of the scale variable.