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S. Cunliffe

Publications and source records attributed to S. Cunliffe.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
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.

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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.

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arXiv2023

First Simultaneous Determination of Inclusive and Exclusive $\left|V_{ub}\right|$

The first simultaneous determination of the absolute value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ub}$ using inclusive and exclusive decays is performed with the full Belle data set at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711 fb${}^{-1}$. We analyze collision events in which one $B$ meson is fully reconstructed in hadronic modes. This allows for the reconstruction of the hadronic $X_u$ system of the semileptonic $b \to u \ell \bar ν_\ell$ decay. We separate exclusive $B \to π\, \ell\, \bar ν_{\ell}$ decays from other inclusive $B \to X_u \, \ell\, \bar ν_{\ell}$ and backgrounds with a two-dimensional fit, that utilizes the number of charged pions in the $X_u$ system and the four-momentum transfer $q^2$ between the $B$ and $X_u$ system. Combining our measurement with information from lattice QCD and QCD calculations of the inclusive partial rate as well as external experimental information on the shape of the $B \to π\, \ell\, \bar ν_{\ell}$ form factor, we determine $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{excl.}} \right| = (3.78 \pm 0.23 \pm 0.16 \pm 0.14)\times 10^{-3}$ and $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{incl.}} \right| = (3.88 \pm 0.20 \pm 0.31 \pm 0.09)\times 10^{-3}$, respectively, with the uncertainties being the statistical error, systematic errors, and theory errors. The ratio of $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{excl.}} \right| / \left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{incl.}} \right| = 0.97 \pm 0.12$ is compatible with unity.

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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$GeV/c^{2}$.

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arXiv2023

Search for a dark photon and an invisible dark Higgs boson in $μ^+μ^-$ and missing energy final states with the Belle II experiment

The dark photon $A^\prime$ and the dark Higgs boson $h^\prime$ are hypothetical particles predicted in many dark sector models. We search for the simultaneous production of $A^\prime$ and $h^\prime$ in the dark Higgsstrahlung process $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow A^\prime \, h^\prime$ with $A^\prime \rightarrow μ^+μ^-$ and $ h^\prime$ invisible in electron-positron collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV collected by the Belle II experiment in 2019. With an integrated luminosity of 8.34 fb$^{-1}$, we observe no evidence for signal. We obtain exclusion limits at 90% Bayesian credibility in the range of 1.7--5.0 fb on the cross section and in the range of $1.7 \times10^{-8}$--$200 \times10^{-8}$ on the effective coupling $\varepsilon^2 \times α_D$ for the $A^\prime$ mass in the range of 4.0 GeV/$c^2$ $< M_{A^\prime}< 9.7$ GeV/$c^2$ and for the $h^\prime$ mass $M_{h^\prime} < M_{A^\prime}$, where $\varepsilon$ is the mixing strength between the standard model and the dark photon and $α_D$ is the coupling of the dark photon to the dark Higgs boson. Our limits are the first in this mass range.

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arXiv2023

Study of the lineshape of $X(3872)$ using $B$ decays to $D^0\overline{D}{}^{*0}K$

We present a study of the $X(3872)$ lineshape in the decay $B \to X(3872)K\to D^0\overline{D}{}^{*0}K$ using a data sample of $772\times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. The peak near the threshold in the $D^0\overline{D}{}^{*0}$ invariant mass spectrum is fitted using a relativistic Breit-Wigner lineshape. We determine the mass and width parameters to be $m = 3873.71 ^{+0.56}_{-0.50} ({\rm stat}) \pm0.13 ({\rm syst}) ~{\rm MeV}/c^2$ and $Γ_0 = 5.2 ^{+2.2}_{-1.5} ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.4 ({\rm syst})~{\rm MeV}$, respectively. The branching fraction is found to be ${\cal B} (B^+\to X(3872)K^+) \times {\cal{B}}(X(3872) \to D^0\overline{D}{}^{*0}) = (0.97 ^{+0.21}_{-0.18} ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.10 ({\rm syst})) \times 10^{-4}$. The signal from $B^0$ decays is observed for the first time with $5.2σ$ significance, and the ratio of branching fractions between charged and neutral $B$ decays is measured to be ${\cal B}(B^0\to X(3872)K^0)/{\cal B}(B^+ \to X(3872)K^+) = 1.34^{+0.47}_{-0.40} ({\rm stat}) ^{+0.10}_{-0.12} ({\rm syst})$. The peak is also studied using a Flatté lineshape. We determine the lower limit on the $D\overline{D}{}^{*}$ coupling constant $g$ to be $0.075$ at 95% credibility in the parameter region where the ratio of $g$ to the mass difference from the $D^0\overline{D}{}^{*0}$ threshold is equal to $-15.11~{\rm GeV}^{-1}$, as measured by LHCb.

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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.

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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.

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arXiv2023

Search for the decay $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast 0}τ^{+}τ^{-}$ at the Belle experiment

This letter presents a search for the rare flavor-changing neutral current process $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast 0}τ^{+}τ^{-}$ using data taken with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. The analysis is based on the entire $Υ(4S)$ resonance data sample of 711 $\rm fb^{-1}$, corresponding to $772\times 10^{6} B \bar{B}$ pairs. In our search we fully reconstruct the companion $B$ meson produced in the process $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrowΥ(4S)\rightarrow B\bar{B}$ from its hadronic decay modes, and look for the decay $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast 0}τ^{+}τ^{-}$ in the rest of the event. No evidence for a signal is found. We report an upper limit on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}({B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast 0}τ^{+}τ^{-}})<3.1\times 10^{-3}$ at 90\% confidence level. This is the first direct limit on $\mathcal{B}({B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast 0}τ^{+}τ^{-}})$.

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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

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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.

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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.

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arXiv2023

First measurement of the $B^{+}\toπ^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ branching fraction and \textit{CP} asymmetry

We study $B^{+}\to π^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ 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 measure an inclusive branching fraction of $(19.0\pm 1.5\pm 1.4)\times 10^{-6}$ and an inclusive \textit{CP} asymmetry of $(9.2 \pm 6.8 \pm 0.7)\%$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic; and a $B^{+}\to ρ(770)^{+}π^{0}$ branching fraction of $(11.2\pm 1.1\pm 0.9 ^{+0.8}_{-1.6})\times 10^{-6}$, where the third uncertainty is due to possible interference with $B^{+}\to ρ(1450)^{+}π^{0}$. We present the first observation of a structure around 1 GeV/$c^{2}$ in the $π^{0}π^{0}$ mass spectrum, with a significance of 6.4$σ$, and measure a branching fraction to be $(6.9\pm 0.9\pm 0.6)\times 10^{-6}$. We also report a measurement of local \textit{CP} asymmetry in this structure.

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arXiv2023

Angular analysis of the low $K^{+}K^{-}$ invariant mass enhancement in $B^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}π^{+}$ decays

We study the decay $B^{+} \to K^+ K^- π^+$ and investigate the angular distribution of $K^{+}K^{-}$ pairs with invariant mass below $1.1$ GeV/$c^2$. This region exhibits both a strong enhancement in signal and very large direct $CP$ violation. We construct a coherent sum model for the angular distribution of $S$- and $P$-wave, and report the ratio of their amplitudes, the relative phase and the forward-backward asymmetry. We also report absolute differential branching fractions and direct $CP$ asymmetry for the decay in bins of $M_{K^+K^-}$ and the differential branching fractions in bins of $M_{K^+π^-}$. The results are based on a data sample that contains $772\times10^6$ $B \bar{B}$ pairs collected at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The measured overall branching fraction and the direct $CP$ asymmetry are $(5.38\pm0.40\pm0.35)\times 10^{-6}$ and $-0.170\pm0.073\pm0.017$, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic.

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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.

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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 $B^0\to D^{(*)-}\pi^+$ decays collected by the Belle II experiment in asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collisions produced by the SuperKEKB collider operating at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ 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 $\tau_{B^0} = {1.499}\pm{0.013}\pm{0.008}\;\text{ps}$, $\Delta m_d = {0.516}\pm{0.008}\pm{0.005}\;\text{ps}^{-1}$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. These results are consistent with the world-average values.

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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/$c^2$.

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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 $ρ^{2} = 0.94 \pm 0.18~\rm{\left(stat\right)} \pm 0.11~\rm{\left(syst\right)}$.

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