Observation of Transverse $Λ/\barΛ$ Hyperon Polarization in $e^+e^-$ Annihilation at Belle

Abstract

We report the first observation of the spontaneous polarization of $Λ$ and $\barΛ$ hyperons transverse to the production plane in $e^+e^-$ annihilation, which is attributed to the effect arising from a polarizing fragmentation function. For inclusive $Λ/\barΛ$ production, we also report results with subtracted feed-down contributions from $Σ^0$ and charm. This measurement uses a dataset of 800.4 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the Belle experiment at or near a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV. We observe a significant polarization that rises with the fractional energy carried by the $Λ/\barΛ$ hyperon.

7 pages, 3 figures, plus supplemental material. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett