arXiv subjects

M. Merola

Publications and source records attributed to M. Merola.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Study of $e^+e^-\to Υ(\rm1S,2S)η$ and $e^+e^-\to Υ(\rm 1S)η^{\prime}$ at $\sqrt{s}=10.866$ GeV with the Belle detector

We report the first observation of the processes $e^+e^-\toΥ(\rm 1S,2S)η$ at $\sqrt{s}=10.866$~GeV with a $10.2σ$ and $16.5σ$ significance respectively. The measured Born cross sections are $σ(e^+e^- \to Υ(2S)η)=2.07 \pm 0.21 \pm 0.19$~pb, and $σ(e^+e^- \to Υ(\rm 1S)η)=0.42 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.04$~pb. We also set the upper limit on the cross section of the process $e^+e^- \to Υ(\rm 1S)η^{\prime}$ to be $σ(e^+e^- \to Υ(\rm 1S)η^{\prime})<0.035$~pb at $90\%$ CL. The results are obtained with the data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider in the energy range from $10.63$~GeV to $11.02$~GeV.

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arXiv2021

Search for $B_{s}^{0} \rightarrow η^{\prime} X_{s\bar{s}}$ at Belle using a semi-inclusive method

We report the first search for the penguin-dominated process $B_{s}^{0} \rightarrow η^{\prime} X_{s\bar{s}}$ using a semi-inclusive method. A 121.4 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ integrated luminosity $Υ(5S)$ data set collected by the Belle experiment, at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider, is used. We observe no statistically significant signal and including all uncertainties, we set a 90\% confidence level upper limit on the partial branching fraction at 1.4 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ for $M(X_{s\bar{s}})$ $\leq$ 2.4 GeV/$c^{2}$.

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arXiv2021

Measurement of the Branching Fraction of the Decay $\boldsymbol{B^{+}\toπ^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_\ell}$ in Fully Reconstructed Events at Belle

We present an analysis of the exclusive $B^{+}\toπ^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_{\ell}$ decay, where $\ell$ represents an electron or a muon, with the assumption of charge-conjugation symmetry and lepton universality. The analysis uses the full $Υ(4S)$ data sample collected by the Belle detector, corresponding to 711 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. We select the events by fully reconstructing one $B$ meson in hadronic decay modes, subsequently determining the properties of the other $B$ meson. We extract the signal yields using a binned maximum-likelihood fit to the missing-mass squared distribution in bins of the invariant mass of the two pions or the momentum transfer squared. We measure a total branching fraction of ${{\cal B}(B^{+}\to π^{+}π^{-}\ell^{+}ν_{\ell})= [22.7 ^{+1.9}_{-1.6} (\mathrm{stat}) \pm 3.5(\mathrm{syst}) ]\times 10^{-5}}$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. This result is the first reported measurement of this decay.

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arXiv2020

Measurement of the charm-mixing parameter $y_{CP}$ in $D^{0}\to K^{0}_{S}ω$ decays at Belle

We report the first measurement of the charm-mixing parameter $y_{CP}$ in $D^{0}$ decays to the $CP$-odd final state $K^{0}_{S}ω$. The study uses the full Belle $e^{+}e^-$ annihilation data sample of $976\rm~ fb^{-1}$ taken at or near the $Υ(4S)$ centre-of-mass energy. We find $y_{CP} = (0.96 \pm 0.91 \pm 0.61 {}^{+0.17}_{-0.00})\%$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic due to event selection and background, and the last is due to possible presence of $CP$-even decays in the data sample.

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arXiv2020

Test of lepton-flavor universality in ${B\to K^\ast\ell^+\ell^-}$ decays at Belle

We present a measurement of $R_{K^{\ast}}$, the branching fraction ratio ${{\cal B}(B\to K^\ast μ^+ μ^-)}$/ ${{\cal B}(B\to K^\ast e^+ e^-)}$, for both charged and neutral $B$ mesons. The ratio for the charged case, $R_{K{^{\ast +}}}$, is the first measurement ever performed. In addition, we report absolute branching fractions for the individual modes in bins of the squared dilepton invariant mass, $q^2$. The analysis is based on a data sample of $711~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$, containing $772\times 10^{6}$ $B\bar B$ events, recorded at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. The obtained results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.

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arXiv2020

Search for $B^0$ Decays to Invisible Final States ($+γ$) at Belle

We report searches for $B^0\to\rm{invisible}$ and $B^0\to\rm{invisible}+γ$ decays, where the energy of the photon is required to be larger than 0.5 GeV. These results are obtained from a $711\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ data sample that contains $772 \times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs and was collected near the $Υ\,(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+ e^-$ collider. We observe no significant signal for either decay and set upper limits on their branching fractions at $90\%$ confidence level of $\mathcal{B}\,(B^0\to\rm{invisible}) < 7.8\times10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}\,(B^0\to\rm{invisible}+γ) < 1.6\times10^{-5}$.

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arXiv2020

Evidence for a vector charmonium-like state in $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$

We report the measurement of $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$ via initial-state radiation using a data sample of an integrated luminosity of 921.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector at the $Υ(4S)$ and nearby. We find evidence for an enhancement with a 3.4$σ$ significance in the invariant mass of $D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^- +c.c.$ The measured mass and width are $(4619.8^{+8.9}_{-8.0}({\rm stat.})\pm2.3({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}/c^{2}$ and $(47.0^{+31.3}_{-14.8}({\rm stat.})\pm4.6({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}$, respectively. The mass, width, and quantum numbers of this enhancement are consistent with the charmonium-like state at 4626 MeV/$c^2$ recently reported by Belle in $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ The product of the $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-+c.c.$ cross section and the branching fraction of $D^*_{s2}(2573)^-\to{\bar D}^0K^-$ is measured from $D^+_sD^*_{s2}(2573)^-$ threshold to 5.6 GeV.

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arXiv2020

Update of inclusive cross sections of single and pairs of identified light charged hadrons

We report new measurements of the production cross sections of pairs of charged pions and kaons as a function of their fractional energies using various fractional-energy definitions. Two different fractional-energy definitions were used and compared to the conventional fractional-energy definition reported previously. The new variables aim at either identifying dihadron cross sections in terms of single-hadron fragmentation functions, or to provide a means of characterizing the transverse momentum created in the fragmentation process. The results were obtained applying the updated initial-state radiation correction used in other recent Belle publications on light-hadron production cross sections. In addition, production cross sections of single charged pions, kaons, and protons were also updated using this initial-state radiation correction. The cross sections are obtained from a $558\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ data sample collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider.

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arXiv2019

Measurements of the Branching Fractions ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0})$, ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0})$ and ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0}) $

Using the data sample of 711 fb$^{-1}$ of $Υ(4S)$ on-resonance data taken by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider, we present the first measurements of branching fractions of the decays $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0}$, $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0}$, and $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0} $. The signal yields for these decays are extracted from the recoil mass spectrum of the system recoiling against $\barΛ_{c}^{-}$ baryons in selected $B^-$ candidates. The branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2790)^{0}$ is measured to be $ (1.1 \pm 0.4 \pm 0.2)\times 10^{-3}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The 90\% credibility level upper limits on ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}^{'0})$ and ${\cal B}(B^{-} \to \barΛ_{c}^{-} Ξ_{c}(2645)^{0})$ are determined to be $6.5\times 10^{-4}$ and $7.9\times 10^{-4}$, respectively.

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arXiv2019

Study of $B \to p {\bar p} ππ$

Using a data sample of $772 \times 10^6$ BB pairs collected on the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider, we report the observations of $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ and $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$. We measure a decay branching fraction of $(0.83 \pm 0.17 \pm 0.17) \times 10^-6$ in $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ for $M_{π^+π^-} < 1.22 GeV/c^2$ with a significance of 5.5 standard deviations. The contribution from $B0 \to p{\bar p}K^0$ is excluded. We measure a decay branching fraction of $(4.58 \pm 1.17 \pm 0.67) \times 10^-6$ for $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$ with $M_{π^+π^0} < 1.3 GeV/c^2$ with a significance of 5.4 standard deviations. We study the difference of the $M_{p{\bar p}}$ distributions in $B^0\to p{\bar p}π^+π^-$ and $B^+ \to p{\bar p}π^+π^0$.

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arXiv2019

Observation of a vector charmoniumlike state in $e^+e^- \to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$

Using a data sample of 921.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector, we study the process of $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ via initial-state radiation. We report the first observation of a vector charmoniumlike state decaying to $D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ with a significance of 5.9$σ$, including the systematic uncertainties. The measured mass and width are $(4625.9^{+6.2}_{-6.0}({\rm stat.})\pm0.4({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}/c^{2}$ and $(49.8^{+13.9}_{-11.5}({\rm stat.})\pm4.0({\rm syst.}))~{\rm MeV}$, respectively. The product of the $e^+e^-\to D^+_sD_{s1}(2536)^-+c.c.$ cross section and the branching fraction of $D_{s1}(2536)^-\to{\bar D}^{*0}K^-$ is measured from the $D_s \bar{D}_{s1}(2536)$ threshold to 5.59~GeV.

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arXiv2019

Observation of the radiative decays of $Υ(1S)$ to $χ_{c1}$

We report the first observation of the radiative decay of the $Υ(1S)$ into a charmonium state. The statistical significance of the observed signal of $Υ(1S) \to γχ_{c1}$ is 6.3 standard deviations including systematics. The branching fraction is calculated to be Br($Υ(1S) \to γχ_{c1}$) = (4.7^{+2.4}_{-1.8} (stat) ^{+0.4}_{-0.5} (sys)) * 10^{-5}. We also searched for $Υ(1S)$ radiative decays into $χ_{c0,2}$ and $η_c(1S,2S)$ and set upper limits on their branching fractions. These results are obtained from a 24.9 fb^{-1} data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider at a center-of-mass energy equal to the $Υ(2S)$ mass using $Υ(1S)$ tagging by the $Υ(2S) \to Υ(1S) π^+π^-$ transitions.

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arXiv2019

Observation of a new structure near 10.75 GeV in the energy dependence of the $e^+e^-\toΥ(nS)π^+π^-$ ($n=1,2,3$) cross sections

We report a new measurement of the $e^+e^-\toΥ(nS)π^+π^-$ ($n=1,2,3$) cross sections at energies from 10.52 to 11.02 GeV using data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. We observe a new structure in the energy dependence of the cross sections; if described by a Breit-Wigner function its mass and width are found to be $M=(10752.7\pm5.9\,^{+0.7}_{-1.1})\,$MeV/$c^2$ and $Γ=(35.5^{+17.6}_{-11.3}\,^{+3.9}_{-3.3})\,$MeV, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The global significance of the new structure including systematic uncertainty is 5.2 standard deviations. We also find evidence for the $e^+e^-\toΥ(1S)π^+π^-$ process at the energy 10.52 GeV, which is below the $B\bar{B}$ threshold.

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arXiv2019

First measurement of the CKM angle $ϕ_3$ with $B^{\pm}\to D(K_{\rm S}^0π^+π^-π^0)K^{\pm}$ decays

We present the first model-independent measurement of the CKM unitarity triangle angle $ϕ_3$ using $B^{\pm}\to D(K_{\rm S}^0π^+π^-π^0)K^{\pm}$ decays, where $D$ indicates either a $D^{0}$ or $\overline{D}^{0}$ meson. Measurements of the strong-phase difference of the $D \to K_{\rm S}^0π^+π^-π^0$ amplitude obtained from CLEO-c data are used as input. This analysis is based on the full Belle data set of $772\times 10^{6}$ $B\overline{B}$ events collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. We obtain $ϕ_3 = (5.7~^{+10.2}_{-8.8} \pm 3.5 \pm 5.7)^{\circ}$ and the suppressed amplitude ratio $r_{B} = 0.323 \pm 0.147 \pm 0.023 \pm 0.051$. Here the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic, and the third is due to the precision of the strong-phase parameters measured from CLEO-c data. The 95% confidence interval on $ϕ_3$ is $(-29.7,~109.5)^{\circ}$, which is consistent with the current world average.

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arXiv2019

Azimuthal asymmetries of back-to-back $π^\pm-(π^0,η,π^\pm)$ pairs in $e^+e^-$ annihilation

This work reports the first observation of azimuthal asymmetries around the thrust axis in $e^+e^-$ annihilation of pairs of back-to-back charged pions in one hemisphere, and $π^0$ and $η$ mesons in the opposite hemisphere. These results are complemented by a new analysis of pairs of back-to-back charged pions. The $π^0$ and $η$ asymmetries rise with the relative momentum $z$ of the detected hadrons as well as with the transverse momentum with respect to the thrust axis. These asymmetries are sensitive to the Collins fragmentation function $H_1^{\perp}$ and provide complementary information to previous measurements with charged pions and kaons in the final state. In particular, the $η$ final states will provide additional information on the flavor structure of $H_1^{\perp}$. This is the first measurement of the explicit transverse-momentum dependence of the Collins fragmentation function from Belle data. It uses a dataset of 980.4~fb$^{-1}$ collected by the Belle experiment at or near a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV.

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arXiv2019

Evidence for $B^+ \rightarrow h_c K^+$ and observation of $η_c(2S) \to p \bar{p} π^+ π^-$

A search for the decays $B^+ \rightarrow h_c K^+$ and $B^0 \rightarrow h_c K_S^0$ is performed. Evidence for the decay $B^+ \rightarrow h_c K^+$ is found; its significance is $4.8σ$. No evidence is found for $B^0 \rightarrow h_c K_S^0$. The branching fraction for $B^+ \rightarrow h_c K^+$ is measured to be $(3.7^{+1.0}_{-0.9}{}^{+0.8}_{-0.8}) \times 10^{-5}$; the upper limit for the $B^0 \rightarrow h_c K_S^0$ branching fraction is $1.4 \times 10^{-5}$ at $90\%$ C.L. In addition, a study of the $p \bar{p} π^+ π^-$ invariant mass distribution in the channel $B^+ \to (p \bar{p} π^+ π^-) K^+$ results in the first observation of the decay $η_c(2S) \to p \bar{p} π^+ π^-$ with $12.1σ$ significance. The analysis is based on the 711 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ data sample collected by the Belle detector at the asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider KEKB at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance.

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arXiv2019

Evidence for the decay $B^0\to p\bar{p}π^0$

We report a search for the charmless baryonic decay $B^0\to p\bar{p}π^0$ with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711~$\rm fb^{-1}$ containing $(772\pm 10)\times 10^6$ $B^0\bar{B}^0$ pairs. The data was collected by the Belle experiment running on the $Υ(4S)$ resonance at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. We measure a branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(B^0\to p\bar{p}π^0)= (5.0\pm1.8\pm0.6 )\times 10^{-7}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The signal has a significance of 3.1 standard deviations and constitutes the first evidence for this decay mode. We also search for the intermediate two-body decays $B^{0}\toΔ^+\bar{p}$ and $B^0\to\barΔ^-p$, and set an upper limit on the branching fraction: $\mathcal{B}(B^0\to Δ^+\bar{p})+\mathcal{B}(B^0\to\barΔ^-p)<1.6\times10^{-6}$ at 90% confidence level.

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arXiv2019

Search for the $B \to Y(4260) K, ~Y(4260) \to J/ψπ^+π^-$ decays

We report the results of a search for the $B \to Y(4260) K, ~Y(4260)\to J/ψπ^+π^-$ decays. This study is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711~fb$^{-1}$, collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. We investigate the $J/ψπ^+π^-$ invariant mass distribution in the range 4.0 to 4.6 GeV/$c^2$ using both $B^+ \to J/ψπ^+π^- K^+$ and $B^0 \to J/ψπ^+π^- K^0_S$ decays. We find excesses of events above the background levels, with a significances of 2.1 and 0.9 standard deviations for charged and neutral $B \to Y(4260) K$ decays, respectively, taking into account the systematic uncertainties. These correspond to upper limits on the product of branching fractions, ${\cal B}(B^+ \to Y(4260) K^+) \times {\cal B}(Y(4260) \to J/ψπ^+ π^-) <1.4 \times 10^{-5}$ and ${\cal B}(B^0 \to Y(4260) K^0) \times {\cal B}(Y(4260) \to J/ψπ^+ π^-) <1.7 \times 10^{-5}$ at the 90\% confidence level.

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