Calculable observables in quantum chromodynamics: (II). Heavy quark production

It is argued that the color-averaged inclusive cross section dσ/d³p for the production of a heavy quark of given momentum p and given flavor is infrared-singularity free and therefore calculable in perturbative QCD if it is evaluated away from heavy quark thresholds and if the typical reaction energy Q is such that α_s(Q)ln[Q/m(Q)] is small, α_s and m being the strong coupling constant and the heavy quark mass respectively. An interpretation of this cross section is proposed in terms of heavy flavor hadronic production.