Evidence for $e^{+}e^{-} \to γη_c(1S)$ at center-of-mass energies between 4.01 and 4.60 GeV

Abstract

We present first evidence for the process $e^+e^-\to γη_c(1S)$ at six center-of-mass energies between 4.01 and 4.60~GeV using data collected by the BESIII experiment operating at BEPCII. These data sets correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 4.6~fb$^{-1}$. We measure the Born cross section at each energy using a combination of twelve $η_c(1S)$ decay channels. Because the significance of the signal is marginal at each energy ($\le3.0σ$), we also combine all six energies under various assumptions for the energy-dependence of the cross section. If the process is assumed to proceed via the $Y(4260)$, we measure a peak Born cross section $σ_{\mathrm{ peak}}(e^+e^-\toγη_c(1S)) = 2.11 \pm 0.49 (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.36 (\mathrm{syst.})$~pb with a statistical significance of 4.2$σ$.

8 pages, 2 figures