Study of h c → 3 ( π + π − ) π 0 , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) ω , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) π 0 η , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) η , and h c → p p ¯
Based on ( 2712.4 ± 14.1 ) × 10 6 ψ ( 3686 ) events collected with the BESIII detector, we study the decays h c → 3 ( π + π − ) π 0 , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) ω , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) π 0 η , h c → 2 ( π + π − ) η , and h c → p p ¯ via ψ ( 3686 ) → π 0 h c . The decay channel h c → 3 ( π + π − ) π 0 is observed for the first time, and its branching fraction is determined to be ( 9.28 ± 1.14 ± 0.77 ) × 10 − 3 , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. In addition, first evidence is found for the modes h c → 2 ( π + π − ) π 0 η and h c → 2 ( π + π − ) ω with significances of 4.8 σ and 4.7 σ , and their branching fractions are determined to be ( 7.55 ± 1.51 ± 0.77 ) × 10 − 3 and ( 4.00 ± 0.86 ± 0.35 ) × 10 − 3 , respectively. No significant signals of h c → 2 ( π + π − ) η and h c → p p ¯ are observed, and the upper limits of the branching fractions of these decays are determined to be < 6.19 × 10 − 4 and < 4.40 × 10 − 5 at the 90% confidence level, respectively. Published by the American Physical Society 2024