Exclusive bb̄ pair production and irreducible background to the exclusive Higgs boson production
We calculated the cross section for the exclusive double-diffractive bb̄ production in pp→p(bb̄)p reaction at LHC. Large cross sections are obtained (3-10nb). This process constitutes the irreducible background to the exclusive Higgs production and is of particular importance in the upcoming Higgs boson searches. The distribution in invariant mass of the bb̄ pair is calculated and compared with th
