Absolute Branching Fractions of Cabibbo-Suppressed D --> K Kbar Decays

TL;DR

This study measures the absolute branching fractions of specific Cabibbo-suppressed D meson decays to kaon pairs using data from the CLEO-c detector, providing precise results that enhance understanding of charm quark decay processes.

Contribution

First precise measurements of absolute branching fractions for D meson decays to kaon pairs at the psi(3770) resonance.

Findings

B(D^0 --> K^+ K^-) = (4.08 +- 0.08 +- 0.09) x 10^-3

B(D^0 --> K^0_S K^0_S) = (1.46 +- 0.32 +- 0.09) x 10^-4

B(D^+ --> K^+ K^0_S) = (3.14 +- 0.09 +- 0.08) x 10^-3

Abstract

Using 281/pb of data collected with the CLEO-c detector at the psi(3770) resonance, we have studied Cabibbo-suppressed decays of D mesons to final states with two kaons. We present results for the absolute branching fractions of the modes D^0 --> K^+ K^-, D^0 --> K^0_S K^0_S, and D^+ --> K^+ K^0_S. We measure B(D^0 --> K^+ K^-) = (4.08 +- 0.08 +- 0.09) x 10^-3, B(D^0 --> K^0_S K^0_S) = (1.46 +- 0.32 +- 0.09) x 10^-4, and B(D^+ --> K^+ K^0_S) = (3.14 +- 0.09 +- 0.08) x 10^-3. We also determine the ratio B(D^0 --> K^+ K^-)/B(D^0 --> pi^+ pi^-) = 2.89 +- 0.05 +- 0.06. For each measurement, the first uncertainty is statistical and the second uncertainty is systematic.