Observation of η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η
By analyzing ( 27.12 ± 0.14 ) × 10 8 ψ ( 3686 ) events accumulated with the BESIII detector, the decay η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η is observed for the first time with a significance of 6.2 σ after considering systematic uncertainties. The product of the branching fractions of ψ ( 3686 ) → γ η c ( 2 S ) and η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η is measured to be B ( ψ ( 3686 ) → γ η c ( 2 S ) ) × B ( η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η ) = ( 2.39 ± 0.32 ± 0.34 ) × 10 − 6 , where the first uncertainty is statistical, and the second one is systematic. The branching fraction of η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η is determined to be B ( η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η ) = ( 3.42 ± 0.46 ± 0.48 ± 2.44 ) × 10 − 3 , where the third uncertainty is due to the branching fraction of ψ ( 3686 ) → γ η c ( 2 S ) . Using a recent BESIII measurement of B ( η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − π 0 ) , we also determine the ratio between the branching fractions of η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − η and η c ( 2 S ) → K + K − π 0 to be 1.49 ± 0.22 ± 0.25 , which is consistent with the previous result of at a comparable precision level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024