Study of $D^{(*)+}_{sJ}$ mesons decaying to $D^{*+} K^0_{\rm S}$ and $D^{*0} K^+$ final states

Abstract

A search is performed for $D^{(*)+}_{sJ}$ mesons in the reactions $pp \to D^{*+} K^0_{\rm S} X$ and $pp \to D^{*0} K^+ X$ using data collected at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV with the LHCb detector. For the $D^{*+} K^0_{\rm S}$ final state, the decays $D^{*+} \to D^0 π^+$ with $D^0 \to K^- π^+$ and $D^0 \to K^- π^+ π^+ π^-$ are used. For $D^{*0} K^+$, the decay $D^{*0} \to D^0 π^0$ with $D^0 \to K^- π^+$ is used. A prominent $D_{s1}(2536)^+$ signal is observed in both $D^{*+} K^0_{\rm S}$ and $D^{*0} K^+$ final states. The resonances $D^*_{s1}(2700)^+$ and $D^*_{s3}(2860)^+$ are also observed, yielding information on their properties, including spin-parity assignments. The decay $D^*_{s2}(2573)^+ \to D^{*+} K^0_{\rm S}$ is observed for the first time, at a significance of 6.9 $σ$, and its branching fraction relative to the $D^*_{s2}(2573)^+ \to D^+ K^0_{\rm S}$ decay mode is measured.

26 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to JHEP, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-052.html