Observation of the $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp π^-$ decay

Abstract

The first observation of the Cabibbo-suppressed decay $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp π^-$ is reported using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 $\rm fb^{-1}$. A prominent signal is observed and the branching fraction relative to the decay mode $Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp K^-$ is determined to be $$ \frac{{\cal B}(Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp π^-)}{{\cal B}(Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp K^-)}=0.0824\pm0.0025\:(\text{stat})\pm0.0042\:(\text{syst}). $$ A search for direct CP violation is performed. The difference in the CP asymmetries between these two decays is found to be $$ {\cal A}_{CP}(Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp π^-)-{\cal A}_{CP}(Λ_b^0\rightarrow J/ψp K^-)=(+5.7\pm 2.4\:(\text{stat})\pm1.2\:(\text{syst}))\%, $$ which is compatible with CP symmetry at the $2.2σ$ level.