Measurement of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in p-Pb collisions at √{sNN} = 5.02TeV

The production of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured as a function of transverse momentum (p_T) in minimum-bias p-Pb collisions at √{s_NN} = 5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The measurement covers the p_T interval 0.5 <p_T < 12 GeV / c and the rapidity range - 1.065 <y_cms < 0.135 in the centre-of-mass reference frame. The contribution of electrons from background sources was subtracted using an invariant mass approach. The nuclear modification factor R_pPb was calculated by comparing the p_T-differential invariant cross section in p-Pb collisions to a pp reference at the same centre-of-mass energy, which was obtained by interpolating measurements at √{ s} = 2.76 TeV and √{ s} = 7 TeV. The R_pPb is consistent with unity within uncertainties of about 25%, which become larger for p_T below 1 GeV / c. The measurement shows that heavy-flavour production is consistent with binary scaling, so that a suppression in the high-p_T yield in Pb-Pb collisions has to be attributed to effects induced by the hot medium produced in the final state. The data in p-Pb collisions are described by recent model calculations that include cold nuclear matter effects.