J/ψ polarization at hadron colliders in nonrelativistic QCD

With nonrelativistic QCD factorization, we present a full next-to-leading order computation of the polarization observable for J/ψ production at hadron colliders including all important Fock states, i.e., 3S(1)([1,8]), 1S(0)([8]), and 3P(J)([8]). We find the 3P(J)([8]) channel contributes a positive longitudinal component and a negative transverse component, so the J/ψ polarization puzzle may be understood as the transverse components canceling between the 3S(1)([8]) and 3P(J)([8]) channels, which results in mainly the unpolarized (even slightly longitudinally polarized) J/ψ. This may give a possible solution to the long-standing J/ψ polarization puzzle. Predictions for J/ψ polarization at the LHC are also presented.