Measurement of D-meson production at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt charmed mesons D0 , D+ , D∗+ and D+s were measured at mid-rapidity in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy √s = 7 TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). D mesons were reconstructed from their decays D0 → K−π+, D+ → K−π+π+, D∗+ → D0π+, D+s → φπ+ → K−K+π+, and their charge conju- gates.With respect to previous measurements in the same rapidity region, the coverage in transverse momentum ( pT ) is extended and the uncertainties are reduced by a factor of about two. The accuracy on the estimated total cc produc- tion cross section is likewise improved. The measured pT- differential cross sections are compared with the results of three perturbative QCD calculations.