Muon pairs and upper limit for upsilon production by 280 GeV muons

Abstract The high mass μ + μ − pairs produced by 280 GeV μ + on a carbon target are studied in a search for the Y production. The high mass continuum in the region 2–18 GeV is interpreted in terms of QED pair production and of μ pairs originating from the decay of hidden and open charm particles as well as of hadrons ( π , K) from deep inelastic interactions. The upper limit for the upsilon production by muons is found to be, at the 90% confidence level, σ γ ·(γ→μ + μ − ) −39 cm 2 /nucleon.