arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J. E. Andrews.
A search for the charmless $B^{0}_{s} \to η^{\prime}ϕ$ decay is performed using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$. No signal is observed and upper limits on the $B^{0}_{s} \to η^{\prime}ϕ$ branching fraction are set to $0.82\times 10^{-6}$ at $90\%$ and $1.01\times 10^{-6}$ at $95\%$ confidence level.
A search for time-integrated $CP$ violation in the Cabibbo-suppressed decay $\mbox{$D^0\rightarrowπ^+π^-π^+π^-$}$ is performed using an unbinned, model-independent technique known as the energy test. This is the first application of the energy test in four-body decays. The search is performed for $P$-even $CP$ asymmetries and, for the first time, is extended to probe the $P$-odd case. Using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}=$7 TeV and 8 TeV, the world's best sensitivity to $CP$ violation in this decay is obtained. The data are found to be consistent with the hypothesis of $CP$ symmetry with a $p$-value of $(4.6\pm0.5)\%$ in the $P$-even case, and marginally consistent with a $p$-value of $(0.6\pm0.2)\%$ in the $P$-odd case, corresponding to a significance for $CP$ non-conservation of 2.7 standard deviations.
A measurement of the time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry in the Cabibbo-suppressed decay $D^0\rightarrow K^-K^+$ is performed using pp collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb$^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The flavour of the charm meson at production is determined from the charge of the pion in $D^{*+}\rightarrow D^0 π^+$ and $D^{*-}\rightarrow \bar{D^0} π^-$ decays. The time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)$ is obtained assuming negligible $CP$ violation in charm mixing and in Cabibbo-favoured $D^0\rightarrow K^-π^+$, $D^+\rightarrow K^-π^+π^+$ and $D^+\rightarrow \bar{K^0}π^+$ decays used as calibration channels. It is found to be $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)=(0.14\pm0.15(stat)\pm0.10(syst))\%$. A combination of this result with previous LHCb measurements yields $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)=(0.04\pm0.12(stat)\pm0.10(syst))\%$, $A_{CP}(π^-π^+)=(0.07\pm0.14(stat)\pm0.11(syst))\%$. These are the most precise measurements from a single experiment. The result for $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)$ is the most precise determination of a time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry in the charm sector to date, and neither measurement shows evidence of CP asymmetry.
A search for the rare decays $B_s^0\toτ^+τ^-$ and $B^0\toτ^+τ^-$ is performed using proton--proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3fb$^{-1}$ collected in 2011 and 2012. The $τ$ leptons are reconstructed through the decay $τ^-\toπ^-π^+π^-ν_τ$. Assuming no contribution from $B^0\toτ^+τ^-$ decays, an upper limit is set on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(B_s^0\toτ^+τ^-) < 6.8\times 10^{-3}$ at 95% confidence level. If instead no contribution from $B_s^0\toτ^+τ^-$ decays is assumed, the limit is $\mathcal{B}(B^0\toτ^+τ^-)< 2.1 \times 10^{-3}$ at 95% confidence level. These results correspond to the first direct limit on $\mathcal{B}(B_s^0\toτ^+τ^-)$ and the world's best limit on $\mathcal{B}(B^0\toτ^+τ^-)$.
The observation of the decay $\varXi^{-}_{b}\to J/ψ\varLambda K^{-}$ is reported, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb detector in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8~\mathrm{TeV}$. The production rate of $\varXi_{b}^{-}$ baryons detected in the decay $\varXi_{b}^{-}\to J/ψ\varLambda K^{-}$ is measured relative to that of $\varLambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons using the decay $\varLambda_{b}^{0}\to J/ψ\varLambda$. Integrated over the $b$-baryon transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}<25~\mathrm{GeV/}c $ and rapidity $2.0<y<4.5$, the measured ratio is \begin{equation*} \frac{f_{\varXi_{b}^{-}}}{f_{\varLambda_{b}^{0}}}\frac{\mathcal{B}(\varXi_{b}^{-}\to J/ψ\varLambda K^{-})}{\mathcal{B}(\varLambda_{b}^{0}\to J/ψ\varLambda)}=(4.19\pm 0.29~(\mathrm{stat})\pm0.15~(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-2}, \end{equation*}where $f_{\varXi_{b}^{-}}$ and $f_{\varLambda_{b}^{0}}$ are the fragmentation fractions of $b\to\varXi_{b}^{-}$ and $b\to\varLambda_{b}^{0}$ transitions, and $\mathcal{B}$ represents the branching fraction of the corresponding $b$-baryon decay. The mass difference between $\varXi_{b}^{-}$ and $\varLambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons is measured to be \begin{equation*} M(\varXi_{b}^{-})-M(\varLambda_{b}^{0})=177.08\pm0.47~(\mathrm{stat})\pm0.16~(\mathrm{syst} )~\mathrm{MeV/}c^{2}. \end{equation*}
Production of prompt D$^0$ mesons is studied in proton-lead and lead-proton collisions recorded at the LHCb detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $1.58\pm0.02$ nb$^{-1}$ recorded at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=5$ TeV. Measurements of the differential cross-section, the forward-backward production ratio and the nuclear modification factor are reported using D$^0$ candidates with transverse momenta less than 10 GeV/c and rapidities in the ranges $1.5<y^*<4.0$ and $-5.0<y^*<-2.5$ in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system.
A search for the rare decays $B^0_s\toμ^+μ^-$ and $B^0\toμ^+μ^-$ is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in $pp$ collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb$^{-1}$. An excess of $B^0_s\toμ^+μ^-$ decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be ${\cal B}(B^0_s\toμ^+μ^-)=\left(3.0\pm 0.6^{+0.3}_{-0.2}\right)\times 10^{-9}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the $B^0_s\toμ^+μ^-$ effective lifetime, $τ(B^0_s\toμ^+μ^-)=2.04\pm 0.44\pm 0.05$ ps, is reported. No significant excess of $B^0\toμ^+μ^-$ decays is found and a 95 % confidence level upper limit, ${\cal B}(B^0\toμ^+μ^-)<3.4\times 10^{-10}$, is determined. All results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations.
A search for $CP$ violation in $D^{\pm}\rightarrow η^{\prime} π^{\pm}$ and $D^{\pm}_{s}\rightarrow η^{\prime} π^{\pm}$ decays is performed using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3$ fb$^{-1}$, recorded by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8$ TeV. The measured $CP$-violating charge asymmetries are $A_{CP}(D^{\pm} \rightarrow η^{\prime} π^{\pm})=(-0.61\pm 0.72 \pm 0.53 \pm 0.12)\%$ and $A_{CP}(D^{\pm}_{s}\rightarrow η^{\prime} π^{\pm})=(-0.82\pm 0.36 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.27)\%$, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second systematic, and the third are the uncertainties on the $A_{CP}(D^{\pm} \rightarrow K^0_S π^{\pm})$ and $A_{CP}(D^{\pm}_{s}\rightarrow ϕπ^{\pm})$ measurements used for calibration. The results represent the most precise measurements of these asymmetries to date.
Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured with the first data from $pp$ collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of $13\,\mathrm{TeV}$. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $4.98 \pm 0.19\,\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of $D^{0}$, $D^{+}$, $D_{s}^{+}$, and $D^{*+}$ mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, and rapidity, $y$, and cover the range $0 < p_{\mathrm{T}} < 15\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$ and $2.0 < y < 4.5$. The inclusive cross-sections for the four mesons, including charge conjugation, within the range of $1 < p_{\mathrm{T}} < 8\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$ are found to be \begin{equation} σ(pp \to D^{0} X) = 2072 \pm 2 \pm 124\,μ\mathrm{b}\\ σ(pp \to D^{+} X) = 834 \pm 2 \pm \phantom{1}78\,μ\mathrm{b}\\ σ(pp \to D_{s}^{+} X) = 353 \pm 9 \pm \phantom{1}76\,μ\mathrm{b}\\ σ(pp \to D^{*+} X) = 784 \pm 4 \pm \phantom{1}87\,μ\mathrm{b} \end{equation} where the uncertainties are due to statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively.
The ratio of branching fractions $R_{K/π} \equiv \mathcal{B}(B_{c}^{+} \to J/ψK^{+})/\mathcal{B}(B_{c}^{+} \to J/ψπ^{+})$ is measured with $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3${\mbox{fb}^{-1}}$. It is found to be $ R_{K/π} = 0.079\pm0.007\pm0.003$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This measurement is consistent with the previous LHCb result, while the uncertainties are significantly reduced.
An amplitude analysis of the decay $Λ_b^0\to D^0 p π^-$ is performed in the part of the phase space containing resonances in the $D^0 p$ channel. The study is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions recorded by the LHCb experiment. The spectrum of excited $Λ_c^+$ states that decay into $D^0 p$ is studied. The masses, widths and quantum numbers of the $Λ_c(2880)^+$ and $Λ_c(2940)^+$ resonances are measured. The constraints on the spin and parity for the $Λ_c(2940)^+$ state are obtained for the first time. A near-threshold enhancement in the $D^0 p$ amplitude is investigated and found to be consistent with a new resonance, denoted the $Λ_c(2860)^+$, of spin $3/2$ and positive parity.
Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from $pp$ collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of $5\,$TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $8.60\pm0.33\,$pb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of $D^0$, $D^+$, $D_s^+$, and $D^{*+}$ mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, $p_{\text{T}}$, and rapidity, $y$. They cover the rapidity range $2.0<y<4.5$ and transverse momentum ranges $0 < p_{\text{T}} < 10\, \text{GeV}/c$ for $D^0$ and $D^+$ and $1 < p_{\text{T}} < 10\, \text{GeV}/c$ for $D_s^+$ and $D^{*+}$ mesons. The inclusive cross-sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of $1 < p_{\text{T}} < 8\, \text{GeV}/c$ are determined to be σ(pp\rightarrow D^0 X) = 1004 \pm 3 \pm 54\,μ\text{b} σ(pp\rightarrow D^+ X) = 402 \pm 2 \pm 30\,μ\text{b} σ(pp\rightarrow D_s^+ X) = 170 \pm 4 \pm 16\,μ\text{b} σ(pp\rightarrow D^{*+} X)= 421 \pm 5 \pm 36\,μ\text{b} where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.
The production of $J/ψ$ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is studied with the \lhcb detector. Cross-section measurements are performed as a function of the transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}$ and the rapidity $y$ of the $J/ψ$ meson in the region $p_\mathrm{T}<14\mathrm{GeV}/c$ and $2.0<y<4.5$, for both prompt $J/ψ$ mesons and $J/ψ$ mesons from $b$-hadron decays. The production cross-sections integrated over the kinematic coverage are $15.03\pm 0.03\pm 0.94$ $μ$b for prompt $J/ψ$ and $2.25\pm 0.01\pm 0.14$ $μ$b for $J/ψ$ from $b$-hadron decays, assuming zero polarization of the $J/ψ$ meson. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The cross-section reported for $J/ψ$ mesons from $b$-hadron decays is used to extrapolate to a total $b\bar{b}$ cross-section. The ratios of the cross-sections with respect to $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV are also determined.
The $Ξ_c^+ K^-$ mass spectrum is studied with a sample of $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.3 fb$^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment. The $Ξ_c^+$ is reconstructed in the decay mode $p K^- π^+$. Five new, narrow excited $Ω_c^0$ states are observed: the $Ω_c(3000)^0$, $Ω_c(3050)^0$, $Ω_c(3066)^0$, $Ω_c(3090)^0$, and $Ω_c(3119)^0$. Measurements of their masses and widths are reported.
We report the large effort which is producing comprehensive high-level young star cluster (YSC) catalogues for a significant fraction of galaxies observed with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) Hubble treasury program. We present the methodology developed to extract cluster positions, verify their genuine nature, produce multiband photometry (from NUV to NIR), and derive their physical properties via spectral energy distribution fitting analyses. We use the nearby spiral galaxy NGC628 as a test case for demonstrating the impact that LEGUS will have on our understanding of the formation and evolution of YSCs and compact stellar associations within their host galaxy. Our analysis of the cluster luminosity function from the UV to the NIR finds a steepening at the bright end and at all wavelengths suggesting a dearth of luminous clusters. The cluster mass function of NGC628 is consistent with a power-law distribution of slopes $\sim -2$ and a truncation of a few times $10^5$ M$_\odot$. After their formation YSCs and compact associations follow different evolutionary paths. YSCs survive for a longer timeframe, confirming their being potentially bound systems. Associations disappear on time scales comparable to hierarchically organized star-forming regions, suggesting that they are expanding systems. We find mass-independent cluster disruption in the inner region of NGC628, while in the outer part of the galaxy there is little or no disruption. We observe faster disruption rates for low mass ($\leq$ $10^4$ M$_\odot$) clusters suggesting that a mass-dependent component is necessary to fully describe the YSC disruption process in NGC628.
Two new algorithms for use in the analysis of $pp$ collision are developed to identify the flavour of $B^0$ mesons at production using pions and protons from the hadronization process. The algorithms are optimized and calibrated on data, using $B^0 \rightarrow D^- π^+$ decays from $pp$ collision data collected by LHCb at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The tagging power of the new pion algorithm is 60 % greater than the previously available one; the algorithm using protons to identify the flavour of a $B^0$ meson is the first of its kind.
A measurement of the differential branching fraction of the decay ${B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast}(892)^{0}μ^{+}μ^{-}}$ is presented together with a determination of the S-wave fraction of the $K^+π^-$ system in the decay $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{+}π^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-}$. The analysis is based on $pp$-collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3\,fb$^{-1}$ collected with the LHCb experiment. The measurements are made in bins of the invariant mass squared of the dimuon system, $q^2$. Precise theoretical predictions for the differential branching fraction of $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast}(892)^{0}μ^{+}μ^{-}$ decays are available for the $q^2$ region $1.1<q^2<6.0\,{\rm GeV}^2/c^4$. In this $q^2$ region, for the $K^+π^-$ invariant mass range $796 < m_{Kπ} < 996\,{\rm MeV}/c^2$, the S-wave fraction of the $K^+π^-$ system in $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{+}π^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-}$ decays is found to be \begin{equation*} F_{\rm S} = 0.101\pm0.017({\rm stat})\pm0.009 ({\rm syst}), \end{equation*} and the differential branching fraction of $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast}(892)^{0}μ^{+}μ^{-}$ decays is determined to be \begin{equation*} {\rm d}\mathcal{B}/{\rm d} q^2 = (0.342_{\,-0.017}^{\,+0.017}({\rm stat})\pm{0.009}({\rm syst})\pm0.023({\rm norm}))\times 10^{-7}c^{4}/{\rm GeV}^{2}. \end{equation*} The differential branching fraction measurements presented are the most precise to date and are found to be in agreement with Standard Model predictions.
A measurement of the phase difference between the short- and long-distance contributions to the $B^{+}\to K^{+}μ^{+}μ^{-}$ decay is performed by analysing the dimuon mass distribution. The analysis is based on $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 $\rm fb^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment in 2011 and 2012. The long-distance contribution to the $B^{+}\to K^{+}μ^{+}μ^{-}$ decay is modelled as a sum of relativistic Breit--Wigner amplitudes representing different vector meson resonances decaying to muon pairs, each with their own magnitude and phase. The measured phases of the $J/ψ$ and $ψ(2S)$ resonances are such that the interference with the short-distance component in dimuon mass regions far from their pole masses is small. In addition, constraints are placed on the Wilson coefficients, $\mathcal{C}_{9}$ and $\mathcal{C}_{10}$, and the branching fraction of the short-distance component is measured.