Heavy flavour production in proton–lead and lead–lead collisions with LHCb

The LHCb experiment offers the unique opportunity to study heavy-ion interactions in the forward region ( 2<η<5 ), in a kinematic domain complementary to the other 3 large experiments at the LHC. The detector has excellent capabilities for reconstructing quarkonia and open charm states, including baryons, down to zero pT. It can separate the prompt and displaced charm components. In p Pb collisions, both forward and backward rapidities are covered thanks to the possibility of beam reversal. Results include measurements of the nuclear modification factor and forward-backward ratio for charmonium, open charm and bottomonium states. These quantities are sensitive probes for nuclear effects in heavy flavour production. Perspectives are given with the large accumulated luminosity during the 2016 p Pb run at the LHC. In 2015, LHCb participated successfully for the first time in the PbPb data-taking. The status of the forward prompt J/ ψ nuclear modification factor measurement in lead-lead collisions is discussed.