12 pages, 11 figuresWe discuss the production of t t quark- antiquark pairs in proton- proton collisions via the fusion mechanism. We include topologies in which both protons stay intact or one or even both of them undergo dissociation. The calculations are performed within the k T - factorisation approach, including transverse momenta of intermediate photons. Photon uxes associated with inelastic ( dissociative) processes are calculated based on modern parameterisations of proton structure functions. We fi nd an integrated cross section of about 2.36 fb at p s = 13 TeV for all contributions ( without requirement of rapidity gap). The cross section for the fully elastic process is the smallest. Inelastic contributions are signi fi cantly reduced when a veto on outgoing jets is imposed. We present several di ff erential distributions in rapidity and transverse momenta of single t or t quarks/ antiquarks as well as distributions in invariant mass of both the t t and masses of dissociated systems. A few two- dimensional distributions are presented in addition.Peer reviewe
