Evidence for the rare decay $Σ^+ \to p μ^+ μ^-$

Abstract

A search for the rare decay $Σ^+ \to p μ^+ μ^-$ is performed using $pp$ collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and $8$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3 fb^{-1}$. An excess of events is observed with respect to the background expectation, with a signal significance of 4.1 standard deviations. No significant structure is observed in the dimuon invariant mass distribution, in contrast with a previous result from the HyperCP experiment. The measured $Σ^+ \to p μ^+ μ^-$ branching fraction is $(2.2\,^{+\,1.8}_{-\,1.3})\times 10^{-8}$, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are included, which is consistent with the Standard Model prediction.

All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2017-049.html. Version 2 consistent with the one published on PRL