Observation of the decay $Λ^0_b \to p K^- μ^+ μ^-$ and a search for $C\!P$ violation

Abstract

A search for $C\!P$ violation in the decay $Λ^0_b \to p K^- μ^+ μ^-$ is presented. This decay is mediated by flavour-changing neutral-current transitions in the Standard Model and is potentially sensitive to new sources of $C\!P$ violation. The study is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions recorded with the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3$ $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The $Λ^0_b \to p K^- μ^+ μ^-$ decay is observed for the first time, and two observables that are sensitive to different manifestations of $C\!P$ violation are measured, $Δ\mathcal{A}_{C\!P} \equiv \mathcal{A}_{C\!P}(Λ^0_b \to p K^- μ^+ μ^-)-\mathcal{A}_{C\!P}(Λ^0_b\to pK^- J/ψ)$ and $a_{C\!P}^{\widehat{T}-odd}$, where the latter is based on asymmetries in the angle between the $μ^+μ^-$ and $p K^-$ decay planes. These are measured to be $Δ\mathcal{A}_{C\!P} = (-3.5 \pm 5.0(stat) \pm 0.2(syst))\times 10^{-2}$, $a_{C\!P}^{\widehat{T}-odd} = (1.2 \pm 5.0(stat) \pm 0.7(syst))\times 10^{-2}$, and no evidence for $C\!P$ violation is found.

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-2016-059.html