Charming synergies: the role of charm-threshold studies in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model

Abstract

Measurements performed with pairs of charm mesons produced at threshold from the decay of the $\psi(3770)$ resonance are of great value in flavour physics. The quantum correlation that exists between the two mesons allows unique access to strong-phase information, which is essential input to flavour-physics studies conducted in other environments. An excellent example from the BESIII collaboration is a recent determination of the strong-phase difference between $D^0$ and $\bar{D}^0$ mesons in the decay $D^0 \to K^0_S\pi^+\pi^-$, which has enabled recent measurements to be performed of the $C\!P$-violating phase $\gamma$ and $D^0-\bar{D}^0$ oscillations by the LHCb experiment at CERN. These $\psi(3770)$ data, and also those collected just above the thresholds for $D_s^+$ and $\Lambda_c^+$ production, can also be exploited in many other ways that are of benefit to flavour-physics studies. These synergies are reviewed, and the need for larger threshold data samples in the near future is emphasised.