arXiv subjects

G. De Nardo

Publications and source records attributed to G. De Nardo.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

New graph-neural-network flavor tagger for Belle II and measurement of $\sin2ϕ_1$ in $B^0 \to J/ψK^0_\text{S}$ decays

We present GFlaT, a new algorithm that uses a graph-neural-network to determine the flavor of neutral $B$ mesons produced in $Υ(4S)$ decays. It improves previous algorithms by using the information from all charged final-state particles and the relations between them. We evaluate its performance using $B$ decays to flavor-specific hadronic final states reconstructed in a 362 $\text{fb}^{-1}$ sample of electron-positron collisions collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB collider. We achieve an effective tagging efficiency of $(37.40 \pm 0.43 \pm 0.36) \%$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, which is $18\%$ better than the previous Belle II algorithm. Demonstrating the algorithm, we use $B^{0}\to J/ψK^0_\text{S}$ decays to measure the mixing-induced and direct $CP$ violation parameters, $S = (0.724 \pm 0.035 \pm 0.009)$ and $C = (-0.035 \pm 0.026 \pm 0.029)$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Development of nanocomposite scintillators for use in high-energy physics

Semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) are light emitters with high quantum yield that are relatively easy to manufacture. There is therefore much interest in their possible application for the development of high-performance scintillators for use in high-energy physics. However, few previous studies have focused on the response of these materials to high-energy particles. To evaluate the potential for the use of nanocomposite scintillators in calorimetry, we are performing side-by-side tests of fine-sampling shashlyk calorimeter prototypes with both conventional and nanocomposite scintillators using electron and minimum-ionizing particle beams, allowing direct comparison of the performance obtained.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of branching fractions, CP asymmetry, and isospin asymmetry for $\boldsymbol{B\rightarrowργ}$ decays using Belle and Belle II data

We present measurements of $B^{+}\rightarrowρ^{+}γ$ and $B^{0}\rightarrowρ^{0}γ$ decays using a combined data sample of $772 \times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs collected by the Belle experiment and $387\times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs collected by the Belle II experiment in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. After an optimized selection, a simultaneous fit to the Belle and Belle II data sets yields $114\pm 12$ $B^{+}\rightarrowρ^{+}γ$ and $99\pm 12$ $B^{0}\rightarrowρ^{0}γ$ decays. The measured branching fractions are $(13.1^{+2.0 +1.3}_{-1.9 -1.2})\times 10^{-7}$ and $(7.5\pm 1.3^{+1.0}_{-0.8})\times 10^{-7}$ for $B^{+}\rightarrowρ^{+}γ$ and $B^{0}\rightarrowρ^{0}γ$ decays, respectively, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. We also measure the isospin asymmetry $A_{\rm I}(B\rightarrowργ)=(10.9^{+11.2 +7.8}_{-11.7 -7.3})\%$ and the direct CP asymmetry $A_{CP}(B^{+}\rightarrowρ^{+}γ)=(-8.2\pm 15.2^{+1.6}_{-1.2})\%$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for the decay $B_s^0\to J/ψπ^0$ at Belle experiment

We have analyzed 121.4 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the $Υ(5S)$ resonance by the Belle experiment using the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider to search for the decay $B_s^0\to J/ψπ^0$. We observe no signal and report an upper limit on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(B_s^0\to J/ψπ^0)$ of $1.21\times 10^{-5}$ at 90\% confidence level. This result is the most stringent, improving the previous bound by two orders of magnitude.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for the baryon number and lepton number violating decays $τ^-\to Λπ^-$ and $τ^-\to \barΛπ^-$ at Belle II

We present a search for the baryon number $B$ and lepton number $L$ violating decays $τ^- \rightarrow Λπ^-$ and $τ^- \rightarrow \barΛ π^-$ produced from the $e^+e^-\to τ^+τ^-$ process, using a 364 fb$^{-1}$ data sample collected by the Belle~II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider. No evidence of signal is found in either decay mode, which have $|Δ(B-L)|$ equal to $2$ and $0$, respectively. Upper limits at 90\% credibility level on the branching fractions of $τ^- \rightarrow Λπ^-$ and $τ^- \rightarrow \barΛπ^-$ are determined to be $4.7 \times 10^{-8}$ and $4.3 \times 10^{-8}$, respectively.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

The Belle II Detector Upgrades Framework Conceptual Design Report

We describe the planned near-term and potential longer-term upgrades of the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB electron-positron collider operating at the KEK laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan. These upgrades will allow increasingly sensitive searches for possible new physics beyond the Standard Model in flavor, tau, electroweak and dark sector physics that are both complementary to and competitive with the LHC and other experiments.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Evidence of $h_{b}(\text{2P}) \to Υ(\text{1S})η$ decay and search for $h_{b}(\text{1P,2P}) \to Υ(\text{1S})π^0$ with the Belle detector

We report the first evidence for the $h_{b}(\text{2P}) \to Υ(\text{1S})η$ transition with a significance of $3.5$ standard deviations. The decay branching fraction is measured to be $\mathcal{B}[h_{b}(\text{2P}) \to Υ(\text{1S})η]=(7.1 ~^{+3.7} _{-3.2}\pm 0.8)\times10^{-3}$, which is noticeably smaller than expected. We also set upper limits on $π^0$ transitions of $\mathcal{B}[h_{b}(\text{2P}) \to Υ(\text{1S})π^0] < 1.8\times10^{-3}$, and $\mathcal{B}[h_{b}(\text{1P})\to Υ(\text{1S})π^0] < 1.8\times10^{-3}$, at the $90\%$ confidence level. These results are obtained with a $131.4$~fb$^{-1}$ data sample collected near the $Υ(\text{5S})$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider.

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arXiv2024

Measurement of the branching fraction of the decay $B^- \to D^0 ρ(770)^-$ at Belle II

We measure the branching fraction of the decay $B^- \to D^0 ρ(770)^-$ using data collected with the Belle II detector. The data contain 387 million $B\overline{B}$ pairs produced in $e^+e^-$ collisions at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. We reconstruct $8360\pm 180$ decays from an analysis of the distributions of the $B^-$ energy and the $ρ(770)^-$ helicity angle. We determine the branching fraction to be $(0.939 \pm 0.021\mathrm{(stat)} \pm 0.050\mathrm{(syst)})\%$, in agreement with previous results. Our measurement improves the relative precision of the world average by more than a factor of two.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for a $μ^+μ^-$ resonance in four-muon final states at Belle II

We report on a search for a resonance $X$ decaying to a pair of muons in $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow μ^+ μ^- X$ events in the 0.212-9.000 GeV/$c^{2}$ mass range, using 178 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the BelleII experiment at the SuperKEKB collider at a center of mass energy of 10.58 GeV. The analysis probes two different models of $X$ beyond the standard model: a $Z^{\prime}$ vector boson in the $L_μ-L_τ$ model and a muonphilic scalar. We observe no evidence for a signal and set exclusion limits at the 90$\%$ confidence level on the products of cross section and branching fraction for these processes, ranging from 0.046 fb to 0.97 fb for the $L_μ-L_τ$ model and from 0.055 fb to 1.3 fb for the muonphilic scalar model. For masses below 6 GeV/$c^{2}$, the corresponding constraints on the couplings of these processes to the standard model range from 0.0008 to 0.039 for the $L_μ-L_τ$ model and from 0.0018 to 0.040 for the muonphilic scalar model. These are the first constraints on the muonphilic scalar from a dedicated search.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Study of $Υ(10753)$ decays to $π^{+}π^{-}Υ(nS)$ final states at Belle II

We present an analysis of the process $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}Υ(nS)$ (where $n$ = 1, 2, or 3) reconstructed in $19.6\rm$ $\rm fb^{-1}$ of Belle II data during a special run of the SuperKEKB collider at four energy points near the peak of the $Υ(10753)$ resonance. By analyzing the mass distribution of the $π^+π^-Υ(nS)$ system and the Born cross sections of the $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}Υ(nS)$ process, we report the first observation of $Υ(10753)$ decays to the $π^{+}π^{-}Υ(1S)$ and $π^{+}π^{-}Υ(2S)$ final states, and find no evidence for decays to $π^{+}π^{-}Υ(3S)$. Possible intermediate states in the $π^+π^-Υ(1S,2S)$ transitions are also investigated, and no evidence for decays proceeding via the $π^\mp Z_b^\pm$ or $f_0(980)Υ(nS)$ intermediate states is found. We measure Born cross sections for the $e^{+}e^{-}\toπ^{+}π^{-}Υ(nS)$ process that, combined with results from Belle, improve the precision of measurements of the $Υ(10753)$ mass and width by nearly a factor of two to $(10756.3\pm2.7\pm0.6)$ MeV/$c^2$ and $(29.7\pm8.5\pm1.1)$ MeV, respectively. The relative ratios of the Born cross sections at the $Υ(10753)$ resonance peak are also reported for the first time.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for a heavy neutral lepton that mixes predominantly with the tau neutrino

We report a search for a heavy neutral lepton (HNL) that mixes predominantly with $ν_τ$. The search utilizes data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The data sample was collected at and just below the center-of-mass energies of the $Υ(4S)$ and $Υ(5S)$ resonances and has an integrated luminosity of $915~\textrm{fb}^{-1}$, corresponding to $(836\pm 12)\times 10^6$ $e^+e^\toτ^+τ^-$ events. We search for production of the HNL (denoted $N$) in the decay $τ^-\to π^- N$ followed by its decay via $N \to μ^+μ^- ν_τ$. The search focuses on the parameter-space region in which the HNL is long lived, so that the $μ^+μ^-$ originate from a common vertex that is significantly displaced from the collision point of the KEKB beams. Consistent with the expected background yield, one event is observed in the data sample after application of all the event-selection criteria. We report limits on the mixing parameter of the HNL with the $τ$ neutrino as a function of the HNL mass.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Evidence for $B^{+}\to K^{+}ν\barν$ decays

We search for the rare decay $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}ν\barν$ in a $362\ \rm{fb}^{-1}$ sample of electron-positron collisions at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance collected with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB collider. We use the inclusive properties of the accompanying $B$ meson in $Υ(4S) \to B\kern 0.18em\overline{\kern -0.18em B}{}$ events to suppress background from other decays of the signal $B$ candidate and light-quark pair production. We validate the measurement with an auxiliary analysis based on a conventional hadronic reconstruction of the accompanying $B$ meson. For background suppression, we exploit distinct signal features using machine learning methods tuned with simulated data. The signal-reconstruction efficiency and background suppression are validated through various control channels. The branching fraction is extracted in a maximum likelihood fit. Our inclusive and hadronic analyses yield consistent results for the $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}ν\barν$ branching fraction of $\left[2.7\pm 0.5(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.5(\mathrm{syst})\right] \times 10^{-5}$ and $\left[1.1^{+0.9}_{-0.8}(\mathrm{stat}){}^{+0.8}_{-0.5}(\mathrm{syst})\right] \times 10^{-5}$, respectively. Combining the results, we determine the branching fraction of the decay $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}ν\barν$ to be $\left[2.3 \pm 0.5(\mathrm{stat})^{+0.5}_{-0.4}(\mathrm{syst})\right]\times 10^{-5}$, providing the first evidence for this decay at $3.5$ standard deviations. The combined result is $2.7$ standard deviations above the standard model expectation.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

First Measurement of $R(X_{τ/\ell})$ as an Inclusive Test of the $b \to c τν$ Anomaly

We measure the tau-to-light-lepton ratio of inclusive $B$-meson branching fractions $R(X_{τ/\ell}) \equiv \mathcal{B}(B\to X τν)/\mathcal{B}(B \to X \ell ν)$, where $\ell$ indicates an electron or muon, and thereby test the universality of charged-current weak interactions. We select events that have one fully reconstructed $B$ meson and a charged lepton candidate from $189~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of electron-positron collision data collected with the Belle II detector. We find $R(X_{τ/\ell}) = 0.228 \pm 0.016~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.036~(\mathrm{syst})$, in agreement with standard-model expectations. This is the first direct measurement of $R(X_{τ/\ell})$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for Two-Body $B$ Meson Decays to $Λ^{0}$ and $Ω^{(*)0}_{c}$

We report the results of the first search for Standard Model and baryon-number-violating two-body decays of the neutral $B$ mesons to $Λ^{0}$ and $Ω^{(*)0}_c$ using 711~${\rm fb^{-1}}$ of data collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. We observe no evidence of signal from any such decays and set 95\% confidence-level upper limits on the products of $B^0$ and $\bar{B}^0$ branching fractions for these two-body decays with $\mathcal{B}(Ω_{c}^{0} \to π^+ Ω^-)$ in the range between 9.5~$\times 10^{-8}$ and 31.2~$\times 10^{-8}$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of $CP$ asymmetries in $B^0 \rightarrow K^0_S K^0_S K^0_S$ decays at Belle II

We report a measurement of decay-time dependent charge-parity ($CP$) asymmetries in $B^0 \rightarrow K^0_S K^0_S K^0_S$ decays. We use $387 \times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider. We reconstruct 220 signal events and extract the $CP$-violating parameters $S$ and $C$ from a fit to the distribution of the decay-time difference between the two $B$ mesons. The resulting confidence region is consistent with previous measurements in $B^0 \rightarrow K^0_S K^0_S K^0_S$ and $B^0 \rightarrow (c\bar{c})K^0$ decays, and with predictions based on the standard model.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Photon Reconstruction in the Belle II Calorimeter Using Graph Neural Networks

We present the study of a fuzzy clustering algorithm for the Belle II electromagnetic calorimeter using Graph Neural Networks. We use a realistic detector simulation including simulated beam backgrounds and focus on the reconstruction of both isolated and overlapping photons. We find significant improvements of the energy resolution compared to the currently used reconstruction algorithm for both isolated and overlapping photons of more than 30% for photons with energies E < 0.5 GeV and high levels of beam backgrounds. Overall, the GNN reconstruction improves the resolution and reduces the tails of the reconstructed energy distribution and therefore is a promising option for the upcoming high luminosity running of Belle II.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for charged-lepton flavor violation in $Υ(2S) \to \ell^\mpτ^\pm$ ($\ell=e,μ$) decays at Belle

We report a search for the charged-lepton flavor violation in $Υ(2S) \to \ell^\mpτ^\pm$ ($\ell=e,μ$) decays using a $25~\fbi$ $Υ(2S)$ sample collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^{+}$$e^-$ asymmetric-energy collider. We find no evidence for a signal and set upper limits on the branching fractions ($\mathcal{B}$) at 90\% confidence level. We obtain the most stringent upper limits: $\mathcal{B}(\Ytomutau) < 0.23 \times 10^{-6}$ and $\mathcal{B}(\Ytoetau) < 1.12 \times 10^{-6}$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for a dark leptophilic scalar produced in association with $τ^+τ^-$ pair in $e^+e^-$ annihilation at center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV

A dark leptophilic scalar $(ϕ_L)$ is a hypothetical particle that couples only to leptons rather than quarks. We report on a search for $ϕ_L$ in the $e^+e^- \to τ^+ τ^- ϕ_L, ~ϕ_L \to \ell^+ \ell^- ~(\ell = e, μ)$ process using 626~\invfb of data collected by the Belle experiment near the \Y4S resonance. We validate the backgrounds with multiple control regions in data, using a novel multiclass multivariate event classifier. In absence of a signal, we quote upper limits at the 90\% confidence level on the coupling between $ϕ_L$ and leptons. Our bounds, obtained in a blinded approach, are 19\% more constraining than the previous limits, averaged over the mass range $0.04 \leq m_{ϕ_L} \leq 6.5~\gev$. We exclude the parameter space below 4~\gev favored by measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon.

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