<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="italic">Z</mml:mi></mml:math>boson production in<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mi>Pb</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>collisions at<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msqrt><mml:msub><mml:mi>s</mml:mi><mml:mi mathvariant="italic">NN</mml:mi></mml:msub></mml:msqrt><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>5.02</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math>TeV measured with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS Collaboration measures the inclusive production of $Z$ bosons via their decays into electron and muon pairs in $p+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions at $\sqrt{{s}_{\mathit{NN}}}=5.02\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{TeV}$ at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are made using data corresponding to integrated luminosities of 29.4 and 28.1 ${\mathrm{nb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for $Z\ensuremath{\rightarrow}ee$ and $Z\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\mu}$, respectively. The results from the two channels are consistent and combined to obtain a cross section times the $Z\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\ell}\ensuremath{\ell}$ branching ratio, integrated over the rapidity region $|{y}_{Z}^{*}|&lt;3.5$, of $139.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.8\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(\mathrm{statistical})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6.2\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(\mathrm{systematic})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3.8$ (luminosity) nb. Differential cross sections are presented as functions of the $Z$ boson rapidity and transverse momentum and compared with models based on parton distributions both with and without nuclear corrections. The centrality dependence of $Z$ boson production in $p+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions is measured and analyzed within the framework of a standard Glauber model and the model's extension for fluctuations of the underlying nucleon-nucleon scattering cross section.