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At least 19 records

Measurements of branching fractions of leptonic and hadronic $ D_s^{+} $ meson decays and extraction of the $ D_s^{+} $ meson decay constant

We present measurements of absolute branching fractions of hadronic and lep-tonic \( D_s^{+} \) decays to K - K + π + , \( {{\overline{K}}^0} \) K + , ηπ + , μ + ν μ and τ + ν τ and report a search for the leptonic \( D_s^{+} \) → e + ν e decays. The results are obtained from a data sample of 913 fb -1 collected at or near the \( \varUpsilon \) (4 S ) and \( \varUpsilon \) (5 S ) resonances with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e - collider. The branching fractions of hadronic decays are measured to be $$ \begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {\mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\ \to\ {K^{-}}{K^{+}}{\pi^{+}}} \right) = \left( {5.06\pm 0.15\pm 0.21} \right)\%,} \\ {\mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\ \to\ {{\overline{K}}^0}{K^{+}}} \right) = \left( {2.95\pm 0.11\pm 0.09} \right)\%,} \\ {\mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\ \to\ \eta {\pi^{+}}} \right) = \left( {1.82\pm 0.14\pm 0.07} \right)\%,} \\ \end{array} $$ where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The branching fractions of leptonic decays are measured to be $$ \begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {\mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\ \to\ {\mu^{+}}{\nu_{\mu }}} \right)=\left( {0.531\pm 0.028\pm 0.020} \right)\%,} \\ {\mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\to {\tau^{+}}{\nu_{\tau }}} \right)=\left( {5.70\pm 0.21_{-0.30}^{-0.31 }} \right)\%,} \\ \end{array} $$ which are combined to determine the \( D_s^{+} \) meson decay constant $$ {f_{{{D_s}}}}=\left( {255.5\pm 4.2\pm 5.1} \right)\ \mathrm{MeV}. $$ We find no significant signal for \( D_s^{+} \) → e + ν e decays and set an upper limit of \( \mathcal{B}\left( {D_s^{+}\ \to\ {e^{+}}{\nu_e}} \right) \) < 1 . 0(0 . 83) × 10 -4 at 95% (90%) confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Light-front holographic distribution amplitudes of pseudoscalar mesons and their application to B -meson decays

In this article the dynamical spin effects of the light-front holographic wave functions for light pseudoscalar mesons are studied. These improved wave functions are then confronted with a number of hadronic observables: the decay constants of π and K mesons, their ξ -moments, the pion-to-photon transition form factor, and the pure annihilation $\bar{B}_s$ → π + π - and $\bar{B}_d$ → K + K - decays. Taking f π , fK , and their ratio fK / f π as constraints, we perform a χ 2 analysis for the holographic parameters, including the mass scale parameter $\sqrtλ$ and the effective quark masses, and find that the fitted results are quite consistent with the ones obtained from the light-quark hadronic Regge trajectories. In addition, we also show that the end point divergence appearing in the pure annihilation $\bar{B}_s$ → π + π - and $\bar{B}_d$ → K + K - decays can be controlled well by using these improved light-front holographic distribution amplitudes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Photoproduction of the f 1 ( 1285 ) meson

The f 1 (1285) meson with mass 1281.0 ± 0.8 MeV/c 2 and width 18.4 ± 1.4 MeV (full width at half maximum) was measured for the first time in photoproduction from a proton target using CLAS at Jefferson Lab. Differential cross sections were obtained via the ηπ + π - , K + K 0 π - , and K - K 0 π + decay channels from threshold up to a center-of-mass energy of 2.8 GeV. The mass, width, and an amplitude analysis of the ηπ + π - final-state Dalitz distribution are consistent with the axial-vector J P = 1 + f 1 (1285) identity, rather than the pseudoscalar 0-η (1295). The production mechanism is more consistent with s -channel decay of a high-mass N * state and not with t -channel meson exchange. Decays to η π π go dominantly via the intermediate a$^±_0$ (980) π ∓ states, with the branching ratio Γ [a 0 π (no $\overline{K}K$) ] / Γ [ηππ (all) ] = 0.74 ± 0.09 . The branching ratios Γ ($\overline{K}K$ π )/ Γ (ηππ) = 0.216 ± 0.033 and Γ (γρ 0 ) / Γ (ηππ) = 0.047 ± 0.018 were also obtained. The first is in agreement with previous data for the f 1 (1285), while the latter is lower than the world average.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Meson spectroscopy with unitary coupled-channels model for heavy-meson decay into three mesons

We develop a model for describing excited mesons decay into three mesons. The properties of the excited mesons can be extracted with this model. The model maintains the three-body unitarity that has been missed in previous data analyses based on the conventional isobar models. We study an importance of the three-body unitarity in extracting hadron properties from data. For this purpose, we use the unitary and isobar models to analyze the same pseudo data of {gamma}p {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}n, and extract the properties of excited mesons. We find a significant difference between the unitary and isobar models in the extracted properties of excited mesons, such as the mass, width and coupling strength to decay channels. Hadron properties such as quantum numbers (spin, parity, etc.), mass and (partial) width have been long studied as a subject called hadron spectroscopy. The hadron properties provide important information for understanding internal structure of the hadron and dynamics which governs it. The dynamics here is of course QCD in its nonperturbative regime. The hadron properties can be extracted from data through a careful analysis, in many cases, partial wave analysis (PWA). Thus it is essential for hadron spectroscopy to have a reliable theoretical analysis tool.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Baryon-baryon, meson-meson, and meson-baryon interactions in nonrelativistic QCD

Van der Waals potentials describing interactions between color-singlet mesons and/or baryons vanish at leading order in potential nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics (pNRQCD). This result and constraints from Gauss’s law are used to prove that weakly coupled pNRQCD van der Waals potentials in generic non-Abelian gauge theories with only heavy quarks are too weak to form bound states whose color state is a product of color singlets. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of four, five, and six quarks with equal masses provide numerical evidence that exotic color configurations are higher energy than products of color-singlet hadrons, suggesting that equal-mass fully heavy tetraquark, pentaquark, and hexaquark bound states do not exist at next-to-leading order in pNRQCD and at all orders in QCD-like theories in which all quark masses are asymptotically large. Mechanisms for generating hadron-hadron bound states are identified, which necessarily involve large quark-mass hierarchies, relativistic effects arising from the presence of sufficiently light quarks, or nonperturbative effects outside the scope of weakly coupled pNRQCD.

Effective field theory↗

QED Meson Description of the Anomalous Particles at ∼17 and ∼38 MeV

The Schwinger confinement mechanism stipulates that a massless fermion and a massless antifermion are confined as a massive boson when they interact in the Abelian QED interaction in (1+1)D.If we approximate light quarks as massless and apply the Schwinger confinement mechanism to quarks, we can infer that a light quark and a light antiquark interacting in the Abelian QED interaction are confined as a QED meson in (1+1)D. Similarly, a light quark and a light antiquark interacting in the QCD interaction in the quasi-Abelian approximation will be confined as a QCD meson in (1+1)D. The QED and QCD mesons in (1+1)D can represent physical mesons in (3+1)D when the flux tube radius is properly taken into account. Such a theory leads to a reasonable description of the masses of π0,η, and η′, and its extrapolation to the unknown QED sector yields an isoscalar QED meson at about 17 MeV and an isovector QED meson at about 38 MeV. The observations of the anomalous soft photons, the hypothetical X17 particle, and the hypothetical E38 particle bear promising evidence for the possible existence of the QED mesons. Pending further confirmation, they hold important implications on the properties on the quarks and their interactions.

Wong, Cheuk-Yin (ORCID:0000000182230659)↗

Unitary coupled-channels model for three-mesons decays of heavy mesons

In this study, a unitary coupled-channels model is presented for investigating the decays of heavy mesons and excited meson states into three light pseudoscalar mesons. The model accounts for the three-mesons final state interactions in the decay processes, as required by both the three-body and two-body unitarity conditions. In the absence of the Z-diagram mechanisms that are necessary consequences of the three-body unitarity, our decay amplitudes are reduced to a form similar to those used in the so-called isobar-model analysis. We apply our coupled-channels model to the three-pions decays of α 1 (1260), π 2 (1670), π 2 (2100), and D 0 mesons, and show that the Z-diagram mechanisms can contribute to the calculated Dalitz plot distributions by as much as 30% in magnitudes in the regions where f 0 (600), ρ(770), and f 2 (1270) dominate the distributions. Also, by fitting to the same Dalitz plot distributions, we demonstrate that the decay amplitudes obtained with the unitary model and the isobar model can be rather different, particularly in the phase that plays a crucial role in extracting the CKM CP-violating phase from the data of B meson decays. Our results indicate that the commonly used isobar model analysis must be extended to account for the final state interactions required by the three-body unitarity to reanalyze the three-mesons decays of heavy mesons, thereby exploring hybrid or exotic mesons, and signatures of physics beyond the standard model.

3-body unitarity↗

Measurement of beauty-strange meson production in Pb–Pb collisions at s NN = 5.02 TeV via non-prompt D s + mesons

The production yields of non-prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ mesons, namely ${D}^{+}_{s}$ mesons from beauty-hadron decays, were measured for the first time as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_T$) at midrapidity (|$y$| < 0.5) in central and semi-central Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The ${D}^{+}_{s}$ mesons and their charge conjugates were reconstructed from the hadronic decay channel ${D}^{+}_{s}$ → $φπ^+$, with $φ$ → K - K + , in the 4 < $p_T$ < 36 GeV/c and 2 < $p_T$ < 24 GeV/ $c$ intervals for the 0–10% and 30–50% centrality classes, respectively. The measured yields of non-prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ mesons are compared to those of prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ and non-prompt $D^0$ mesons by calculating the ratios of the production yields in Pb–Pb collisions and the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$. The ratio between the $R_{AA}$ of non-prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ mesons, and that between the $R_{AA}$ of non-prompt ${D}^{+}_{s}$ and non-prompt $D^0$ mesons in central Pb–Pb collisions are found to be on average higher than unity in the 4 < $p_T$ < 12 GeV/ $c$ interval with a statistical significance of about 1.6σ and 1.7σ, respectively. The measured $R_{AA}$ ratios are compared with the predictions of theoretical models of heavy-quark transport in a hydrodynamically expanding QGP that incorporate hadronisation via quark recombination.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Revealing the structure of light pseudoscalar mesons at the electron–ion collider

The questions of how the bulk of the Universe's visible mass emerges and how it is manifest in the existence and properties of hadrons are profound, and probe the heart of strongly interacting matter. Paradoxically, the lightest pseudoscalar mesons appear to be key to a further understanding of the emergent mass and structure mechanisms. These mesons, namely, the pion and kaon, are the Nambu-Goldstone boson modes of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Unravelling their partonic structure and the interplay between emergent and Higgs-boson mass mechanisms is a common goal of three interdependent approaches - continuum QCD phenomenology, lattice-regularised QCD, and the global analysis of parton distributions - linked to experimental measurements of hadron structure. Experimentally, the anticipated electron-ion collider will enable a revolution in our ability to study pion and kaon structures, accessed by scattering from the 'meson cloud' of the proton through the Sullivan process. With the goal of enabling a suite of measurements that can address these questions, we examine key reactions that identify the critical detector-system requirements needed to map tagged pion and kaon cross-sections over a wide range of kinematics. The excellent prospects for extracting pion structural, functional, and form-factor data are outlined, and similar prospects for kaon structures are discussed in the context of a worldwide programme. Finally, the successful completion of the programme outlined herein will deliver deep, far-reaching insights into the emergence of pions and kaons, their properties, and their role as QCD's Goldstone boson modes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Photoproduction of ω mesons off nuclei and impact of polarization on the meson-nucleon interaction

We consider photoproduction of ω mesons off complex nuclei to study interactions of transversely and longitudinally polarized vector mesons with nucleons. Whereas the total cross section for interactions of the transversely polarized vector mesons with nucleons σ T = σ(V T N) can be obtained from coherent photoproduction, measurements of vector meson photoproduction in the incoherent region provide a unique opportunity to extract the not-yet-measured total cross section for longitudinally polarized mesons σ L = σ(V L N). The predictions for the latter strongly depend on the theoretical approaches. Furthermore, this work is stimulated by the construction of the new experiment GlueX at Jefferson Lab, designed to study the photoproduction of mesons in a large beam energy range up to 12 GeV.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

B -meson decay constants from 2 + 1 -flavor lattice QCD with domain-wall light quarks and relativistic heavy quarks

We calculate the B-meson decay constants f B , f B s , and their ratio in unquenched lattice QCD using domain-wall light quarks and relativistic b quarks. We use gauge-field ensembles generated by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations using the domain-wall fermion action and Iwasaki gauge action with three flavors of light dynamical quarks. We analyze data at two lattice spacings of a ≈ 0.11, 0.086 fm with unitary pion masses as light as M π ≈ 290 MeV; this enables us to control the extrapolation to the physical light-quark masses and continuum. For the b quarks we use the anisotropic clover action with the relativistic heavy-quark interpretation, such that discretization errors from the heavy-quark action are of the same size as from the light-quark sector. We renormalize the lattice heavy-light axial-vector current using a mostly nonperturbative method in which we compute the bulk of the matching factor nonperturbatively, with a small correction, that is close to unity, in lattice perturbation theory. We also improve the lattice heavy-light current through O(α s a). We extrapolate our results to the physical light-quark masses and continuum using SU(2) heavy-meson chiral perturbation theory, and provide a complete systematic error budget. We obtain f B 0 = 199.5(12.6) MeV, f B + =195.6(14.9) MeV, f B s =235.4(12.2) MeV, f B s /f B 0 =1.197(50), and f B s /f B + =1.223(71), where the errors are statistical and total systematic added in quadrature. Finally, these results are in good agreement with other published results and provide an important independent cross-check of other three-flavor determinations of B-meson decay constants using staggered light quarks.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗