Enhanced J/Psi production from double parton scatterings in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

A generic expression of double-parton scattering (DPS) cross sections in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is derived as a function of the corresponding single-parton hard cross sections. We consider the case of prompt-J/psi production and find that the DPS contributions represent (15--20)% of the total J/psi cross section in lead-lead (PbPb) collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In Pb-Pb at 5.5 TeV, about 300 double-J/psi events are expected per unit midrapidity in the dilepton decay modes, per inverse-nanobarn. Double-J/psi DPS production can partially explain the relatively less suppressed yields of J/psi observed in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC compared to results at lower collider energies.