Measurement of the b jet cross section in events with a Z boson in pp(-) collisions at root s 1. 96 TeV

A measurement of the inclusive bottom jet cross section is presented for events containing a Z boson in pp collisions at {radical}(s)=1.96 TeV using the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Z bosons are identified in their electron and muon decay modes, and b jets with E{sub T}>20 GeV and {eta}<1.5 are identified by reconstructing a secondary decay vertex. The measurement is based on an integrated luminosity of about 330 pb{sup -1}. A cross section times branching ratio of {sigma}(Z+b jets)xB(Z{yields}l{sup +}l{sup -})=0.93{+-}0.36 pb is found, where B(Z{yields}l{sup +}l{sup -}) is the branching ratio of the Z boson or {gamma}* into a single flavor dilepton pair (e or {mu}) in the mass range between 66 and 116 GeV/c{sup 2}. The ratio of b jets to the total number of jets of any flavor in the Z sample, within the same kinematic range as the b jets, is 2.36{+-}0.92%. Here, the uncertainties are the quadratic sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. Predictions made with next-to-leading order QCD agree, within experimental and theoretical uncertainties, with these measurements.