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H. Ahmed

Publications and source records attributed to H. Ahmed.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

Measurement of $CP$ asymmetries in $B^0\to ϕK^0_S$ decays with Belle II

We present a measurement of time-dependent rate asymmetries in $B^0\to ϕK^0_S$ decays to search for non-standard-model physics in $b\to q \overline{q}s$ transitions. The data sample is collected with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider in 2019-2022 and contains $(387\pm 6)\times 10^6$ bottom-antibottom mesons from $Υ(4S)$ resonance decays. We reconstruct $162\pm17$ signal events and extract the charge-parity ($CP$) violating parameters from a fit to the distribution of the proper-decay-time difference of the two $B$ mesons. The measured direct and mixing-induced $CP$ asymmetries are $A=0.31\pm0.20\pm0.05$ and $S=0.54\pm0.26^{+0.06}_{-0.08}$, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. The results are compatible with the $CP$ asymmetries observed in $b\to c\overline{c} s$ transitions.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Search for a $τ^+τ^-$ resonance in $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow μ^{+}μ^{-} τ^+τ^-$ events with the Belle II experiment

We report the first search for a non-standard-model resonance decaying into $τ$ pairs in $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow μ^{+}μ^{-} τ^+τ^-$ events in the 3.6-10 GeV/$c^{2}$ mass range. We use a 62.8 fb$^{-1}$ sample of $e^+e^-$ collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider. The analysis probes three different models predicting a spin-1 particle coupling only to the heavier lepton families, a Higgs-like spin-0 particle that couples preferentially to charged leptons (leptophilic scalar), and an axion-like particle, respectively. We observe no evidence for a signal and set exclusion limits at 90% confidence level on the product of cross section and branching fraction into $τ$ pairs, ranging from 0.7 fb to 24 fb, and on the couplings of these processes. We obtain world-leading constraints on the couplings for the leptophilic scalar model for masses above 6.5 GeV/$c^2$ and for the axion-like particle model over the entire mass range.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Narrow bandwidth, low-emittance positron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator

The rapid progress that plasma wakefield accelerators are experiencing is now posing the question as to whether they could be included in the design of the next generation of high-energy electron-positron colliders. However, the typical structure of the accelerating wakefields presents challenging complications for positron acceleration. Research in plasma-based acceleration of positrons has thus far experienced limited experimental progress due to the lack of positron beams suitable to seed a plasma accelerator. Here, we report on the first experimental demonstration of a laser-driven source of ultra-relativistic positrons with sufficient spectral and spatial quality to be injected in a plasma accelerator. Our results indicate, in agreement with numerical simulations, selection and transport of positron beamlets containing $N_{e+}\geq10^5$ positrons in a 5\% bandwidth around 600 MeV, with femtosecond-scale duration and micron-scale normalised emittance. Particle-in-cell simulations show that positron beams of this kind can be efficiently guided and accelerated in a laser-driven plasma accelerator, with favourable scalings to further increase overall charge and energy using PW-scale lasers. The results presented here demonstrate the possibility of performing experimental studies of positron acceleration in a plasma wakefield.

physics.acc-ph↗
arXiv2023

Search for an invisible $Z^\prime$ in a final state with two muons and missing energy at Belle II

The $L_μ-L_τ$ extension of the standard model predicts the existence of a lepton-flavor-universality-violating $Z^{\prime}$ boson that couples only to the heavier lepton families. We search for such a $Z^\prime$ through its invisible decay in the process $e^+ e^- \to μ^+ μ^- Z^{\prime}$. We use a sample of electron-positron collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58GeV collected by the Belle II experiment in 2019-2020, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 79.7fb$^{-1}$. We find no excess over the expected standard-model background. We set 90$\%$-confidence-level upper limits on the cross section for this process as well as on the coupling of the model, which ranges from $3 \times 10^{-3}$ at low $Z^{\prime}$ masses to 1 at $Z^{\prime}$ masses of 8$GeV/c^{2}$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the $τ$-lepton mass with the Belle~II experiment

We present a measurement of the $τ$-lepton mass using a sample of about 175 million $e^+e^- \to τ^+τ^-$ events collected with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB $e^+e^-$ collider at a center-of-mass energy of $10.579\,\mathrm{Ge\kern -0.1em V}$. This sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $190\,\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$. We use the kinematic edge of the $τ$ pseudomass distribution in the decay ${τ^-\toπ^-π^+π^-ν_τ}$ and measure the $τ$ mass to be $1777.09 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.11 \,\mathrm{Me\kern -0.1em V\!/c^2}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This result is the most precise to date.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the branching fraction and $\it CP$ asymmetry of $B^{0} \rightarrow π^{0} π^{0}$ decays using $198 \times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs in Belle II data

We report measurements of the branching fraction and $\it CP$ asymmetry in $B^{0} \to π^{0} π^{0}$ decays reconstructed at Belle II in an electron-positron collision sample containing $198 \times 10^{6}$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs. We measure a branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\Bpipi) = (1.38 \pm 0.27 \pm 0.22) \times 10^{-6}$ and a $\it CP$ asymmetry $\Acp(\Bpipi) = 0.14 \pm 0.46 \pm 0.07$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

A test of light-lepton universality in the rates of inclusive semileptonic $B$-meson decays at Belle II

We present the first measurement of the ratio of branching fractions of inclusive semileptonic $B$-meson decays, $R(X_{e/μ}) = \mathcal{B}(B\to X \, e \, ν) / \mathcal{B}(B\to X \, μ\, ν)$, a precision test of electron-muon universality, using data corresponding to $189\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ from electron-positron collisions collected with the Belle II detector. In events where the partner $B$ meson is fully reconstructed, we use fits to the lepton momentum spectra above $1.3\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$ to obtain $R(X_{e/μ}) = 1.007 \pm 0.009~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.019~(\mathrm{syst})$, which is the most precise lepton-universality test of its kind and agrees with the standard-model expectation.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Search for lepton-flavor-violating $τ^- \to \ell^-ϕ$ decays in 2019-2021 Belle II data

We report a search for lepton-flavor-violating decays $τ^- \to \ell^- ϕ$ ($\ell^- =e^-,μ^-$) at the Belle II experiment, using a sample of electron-positron data produced at the SuperKEKB collider in 2019-2021 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 190 fb$^{-1}$. We use a new untagged selection for $e^+e^- \to τ^+τ^-$ events, where the signal $τ$ is searched for as a neutrinoless final state of a single charged lepton and a $ϕ$ meson and the other $τ$ is not reconstructed in any specific decay mode, in contrast to previous measurements by the BaBar and Belle experiments. We find no evidence for $τ^- \to \ell^- ϕ$ decays and obtain upper limits on the branching fractions at 90% confidence level of 23 $\times 10^{-8}$ and 9.7$\times 10^{-8}$ for $τ^- \rightarrow e^-ϕ$ and $τ^- \rightarrow μ^-ϕ$, respectively

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Search for Lepton-Flavor-Violating $τ$ Decays to a Lepton and an Invisible Boson at Belle II

We search for lepton-flavor-violating $τ^-\to e^-α$ and $τ^-\toμ^-α$ decays, where $α$ is an invisible spin-0 boson. The search uses electron-positron collisions at $10.58$ GeV center-of-mass energy with an integrated luminosity of $62.8$ fb$^{-1}$, produced by the SuperKEKB collider and collected with the Belle II detector. We search for an excess in the lepton-energy spectrum of the known $τ^-\to e^-\barν_e ν_τ$ and $τ^-\to μ^-\barν_μν_τ$ decays. We report 95\% confidence-level upper limits on the branching-fraction ratio ${\mathcal B}(τ^-\to e^- α) / {\mathcal B}(τ^- \to e^- \barν_e ν_τ)$ in the range $(1.1-9.7) \times 10^{-3}$ and on ${\mathcal B}(τ^-\to μ^- α) / {\mathcal B}(τ^- \to μ^- \barν_μν_τ)$ in the range $(0.7-12.2) \times 10^{-3}$ for $α$ masses between 0 and 1.6 GeV/c$^2$. These results provide the most stringent bounds on invisible boson production from $τ$ decays.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Observation of ${B\to D^{(*)} K^- K^{0}_S}$ decays using the 2019-2022 Belle II data sample

We present a measurement of the branching fractions of four $B^{0,-}\to D^{(*)+,0} K^- K^{0}_S$ decay modes. The measurement is based on data from SuperKEKB electron-positron collisions at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance collected with the Belle II detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of ${362~\text{fb}^{-1}}$. The event yields are extracted from fits to the distributions of the difference between expected and observed $B$ meson energy to separate signal and background, and are efficiency-corrected as a function of the invariant mass of the $K^-K_S^0$ system. We find the branching fractions to be: \[ \text{B}(B^-\to D^0K^-K_S^0)=(1.89\pm 0.16\pm 0.10)\times 10^{-4}, \] \[ \text{B}(\overline B{}^0\to D^+K^-K_S^0)=(0.85\pm 0.11\pm 0.05)\times 10^{-4},\] \[ \text{B}(B^-\to D^{*0}K^-K_S^0)=(1.57\pm 0.27\pm 0.12)\times 10^{-4}, \] \[ \text{B}(\overline B{}^0\to D^{*+}K^-K_S^0)=(0.96\pm 0.18\pm 0.06)\times 10^{-4},\] where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. These results include the first observation of $\overline B{}^0\to D^+K^-K_S^0$, $B^-\to D^{*0}K^-K_S^0$, and $\overline B{}^0\to D^{*+}K^-K_S^0$ decays and a significant improvement in the precision of $\text{B}(B^-\to D^0K^-K_S^0)$ compared to previous measurements.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Novel method for the identification of the production flavor of neutral charmed mesons

We propose a new algorithm for the identification of the production flavor of neutral $D$ mesons in the Belle II experiment. The algorithm exploits the correlation between the flavor of a reconstructed neutral $D$ meson (signal $D$ meson) and the electric charges of particles reconstructed in the rest of the $e^+e^-\to c \bar{c}$ event. These include those originating from the decay of the other charm hadron produced in the event, as well as those possibly produced in association with the signal $D$ meson. We develop the algorithm using simulation and calibrate it in data using decay modes that identify the flavor of the decaying neutral $D$ meson. We use a data sample of $e^+e^-$ collisions, corresponding to $362\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, collected by Belle II at center-of-mass energies near the $Υ(4S)$ mass. The effective tagging efficiency in data is $(47.91 \pm 0.07 \mathrm{(stat)} \pm 0.51 \mathrm{(syst)})\%$, independent of the neutral-$D$-meson decay mode. This charm flavor tagger will approximately double the effective sample size of many $CP$-violation and charm-mixing measurements that so far have exclusively relied on neutral $D$ mesons originating from $D^{*\pm}$ decays. While developed for Belle II, the basic principles underlying the charm flavor tagger can be used in other experiments, including those at hadron colliders.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Automated control and optimisation of laser driven ion acceleration

The interaction of relativistically intense lasers with opaque targets represents a highly non-linear, multi-dimensional parameter space. This limits the utility of sequential 1D scanning of experimental parameters for the optimisation of secondary radiation, although to-date this has been the accepted methodology due to low data acquisition rates. High repetition-rate (HRR) lasers augmented by machine learning present a valuable opportunity for efficient source optimisation. Here, an automated, HRR-compatible system produced high fidelity parameter scans, revealing the influence of laser intensity on target pre-heating and proton generation. A closed-loop Bayesian optimisation of maximum proton energy, through control of the laser wavefront and target position, produced proton beams with equivalent maximum energy to manually-optimized laser pulses but using only 60% of the laser energy. This demonstration of automated optimisation of laser-driven proton beams is a crucial step towards deeper physical insight and the construction of future radiation sources.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the $Ω_c^0$ lifetime at Belle II

We report on a measurement of the $Ω_c^0$ lifetime using $Ω_c^0 \to Ω^-π^+$ decays reconstructed in $e^+e^-\to c\bar{c}$ data collected by the Belle II experiment and corresponding to $207~{\rm fb^{-1}}$ of integrated luminosity. The result, $\rmτ(Ω_c^0)=243\pm48( stat)\pm11(syst)~fs$, agrees with recent measurements indicating that the $Ω_c^0$ is not the shortest-lived weakly decaying charmed baryon.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the $B^0$ lifetime and flavor-oscillation frequency using hadronic decays reconstructed in 2019-2021 Belle II data

We measure the $B^0$ lifetime and flavor-oscillation frequency using $B^0\to D^{(*)-}π^+$ decays collected by the Belle II experiment in asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collisions produced by the SuperKEKB collider operating at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. We fit the decay-time distribution of signal decays, where the initial flavor is determined by identifying the flavor of the other $B$ meson in the event. The results, based on $33000$ signal decays reconstructed in a data sample corresponding to ${190}\text{fb}^{-1}$, are $τ_{B^0} = {1.499}\pm{0.013}\pm{0.008}\;\text{ps}$, $Δm_d = {0.516}\pm{0.008}\pm{0.005}\;\text{ps}^{-1}$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. These results are consistent with the world-average values.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Observation of $e^+e^-\toωχ_{bJ}(1P)$ and search for $X_b \to ωΥ(1S)$ at $\sqrt{s}$ near 10.75 GeV

We study the processes $e^+e^-\toωχ_{bJ}(1P)$ ($J$ = 0, 1, or 2) using samples at center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s}$ = 10.701, 10.745, and 10.805 GeV, corresponding to 1.6, 9.8, and 4.7 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, respectively. These data were collected with the Belle II detector during special operations of the SuperKEKB collider above the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. We report the first observation of $ωχ_{bJ}(1P)$ signals at $\sqrt{s}$ = 10.745 GeV. By combining Belle II data with Belle results at $\sqrt{s}$ = 10.867 GeV, we find energy dependencies of the Born cross sections for $e^+e^-\to ωχ_{b1,b2}(1P)$ to be consistent with the shape of the $Υ(10753)$ state. These data indicate that the internal structures of the $Υ(10753)$ and $Υ(10860)$ states may differ. Including data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 10.653 GeV, we also search for the bottomonium equivalent of the $X(3872)$ state decaying into $ωΥ(1S)$. No significant signal is observed for masses between 10.45 and 10.65 GeV/$c^2$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2023

Measurement of the $B^{0} \rightarrow D^{*-} \ell^{+} ν_{\ell}$ branching ratio and $|V_{cb}|$ with a fully reconstructed accompanying $B$ meson in 2019-2021 Belle II data

We present a measurement of the $B^{0} \rightarrow D^{*-} \ell^{+} ν_{\ell}$ ($\ell=e,μ$) branching ratio and of the CKM parameter $|V_{cb}|$ using signal decays accompanied by a fully reconstructed $B$ meson. The Belle II data set of electron-positron collisions at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance, corresponding to 189.3$\,$fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, is analyzed. With the Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert form factor parameterization, the parameters $η_{\rm EW} F(1) |V_{cb}|$ and $ρ^{2}$ are extracted, where $η_{\rm EW}$ is an electroweak correction, $F(1)$ is a normalization factor and $ρ^{2}$ is a form factor shape parameter. We reconstruct 516 signal decays and thereby obtain $\mathcal{B} (B^{0} \rightarrow D^{*-} \ell^{+} ν_{\ell} ) = \left(5.27 \pm 0.22~\rm{\left(stat\right)} \pm 0.38~\rm{\left(syst\right)}\right) \%$, $η_{EW} F(1) |V_{cb}| \times 10^{3} = 34.6 \pm 1.8~\rm{\left(stat\right)} \pm 1.7~\rm{\left(syst\right)}$, and $ρ^{2} = 0.94 \pm 0.18~\rm{\left(stat\right)} \pm 0.11~\rm{\left(syst\right)}$.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2022

Reconstruction of $B \to ρ\ell ν_\ell$ decays identified using hadronic decays of the recoil $B$ meson in 2019 -- 2021 Belle II data

We present results on the semileptonic decays $B^0 \to ρ^- \ell^+ ν_\ell$ and $B^+ \to ρ^0 \ell^+ ν_\ell$ in a sample corresponding to 189.9/fb of Belle II data at the SuperKEKB $e^- e^+$ collider. Signal decays are identified using full reconstruction of the recoil $B$ meson in hadronic final states. We determine the total branching fractions via fits to the distributions of the square of the "missing" mass in the event and the dipion mass in the signal candidate and find ${\mathcal{B}(B^0\toρ^-\ell^+ ν_\ell) = (4.12 \pm 0.64(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 1.16(\mathrm{syst})) \times 10^{-4}}$ and ${\mathcal{B}({B^+\toρ^0\ell^+ν_\ell}) = (1.77 \pm 0.23 (\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.36 (\mathrm{syst})) \times 10^{-4}}$ where the dominant systematic uncertainty comes from modeling the nonresonant $B\to (ππ)\ell^+ν_\ell$ contribution.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2022

Determination of $|V_{ub}|$ from untagged $B^0\toπ^- \ell^+ ν_{\ell}$ decays using 2019-2021 Belle II data

We present an analysis of the charmless semileptonic decay $B^0\toπ^- \ell^+ ν_{\ell}$, where $\ell = e, μ$, from 198.0 million pairs of $B\bar{B}$ mesons recorded by the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB electron-positron collider. The decay is reconstructed without identifying the partner $B$ meson. The partial branching fractions are measured independently for $B^0\toπ^- e^+ ν_{e}$ and $B^0\toπ^- μ^+ ν_μ$ as functions of $q^{2}$ (momentum transfer squared), using 3896 $B^0\toπ^- e^+ ν_{e}$ and 5466 $B^0\toπ^- μ^+ ν_μ$ decays. The total branching fraction is found to be $(1.426 \pm 0.056 \pm 0.125) \times 10^{-4}$ for $B^0\toπ^- \ell^+ ν_{\ell}$ decays, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. By fitting the measured partial branching fractions as functions of $q^{2}$, together with constraints on the nonperturbative hadronic contribution from lattice QCD calculations, the magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ub}$, $(3.55 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.13 \pm 0.17) \times 10^{-3}$, is extracted. Here, the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic and the third is theoretical.

hep-ex↗