Charm production in a string model of proton-proton collisions

Using a simple string fragmentation model, with charm pair production in the string, in conjunction with a Drell-Yan type mechanism of string hadroproduction, many features of charm particle production in proton-proton collisions are described. While the normalisation of cross-sections is arbitrary, the relative normalisation of Λ_c andD production is well described by the model. This normalisation is related to previous results of the model and the running coupling α_s of QCD via a plausibility argument. It is argued that other approaches, which dismiss the possibility of charm pair production in the string, are rather pessimistic in this respect. Brief comments about testing this hypothesis through polarization measurements are made.