Charm production in nonresonante+e−annihilations at√s =10.55 GeV

We report results on the differential and total cross sections for inclusive production of the charmed particles $D^{\mathrm{*}+}$, $D^{\mathrm{*}0}$, $D^0$, $D^{+}$, $D_s$, and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_{\mathit{c}}$ in ${\mathit{e}}^{+}$ ${\mathit{e}}^{\mathrm{-}}$ annihilations at √s=10.55 GeV. Widely used quark fragmentation models are discussed and compared with the measured charmed-particle momentum distributions. This comparison, as well as that with measurements at other center-of-mass energies, shows the need to take QCD corrections into account and their importance for a correct interpretation of the model parameters. The observed rate of $D^0$ and $D^{+}$ production is compared to the expected total charm production cross section. We measure the probability of a charmed meson being produced as a vector meson and the $D^{\mathrm{*}+}$ decay branching fraction into $D^0$ ${\pi }^{+}$.