Searches for exotic X,Y, and Z- states with BABAR

TL;DR

This paper reports on BABAR's recent searches for exotic charmonium-like states such as Y(4260), X(3872), Y(3940), and Z(4430)^-, which are potential four-quark mesons, building on discoveries made at BELLE and BABAR.

Contribution

It provides new experimental results on the production and properties of these exotic states, including a search for the Z(4430)^-.

Findings

Observation of Y(4260), X(3872), and Y(3940) states.

Search results for Z(4430)^- state.

Insights into the quark content of these states.

Abstract

Recently, several charmonium-like states above $D\bar{D}$ threshold have been discovered at the BELLE and BABAR $B$-factories. Some of these states are produced via Initial State Radiation ({\it e.g.} Y(4260) and Y(4350)) and some are observed in $B$ meson decays ({\it{e.g.}} X(3872), Y(3940)). The BELLE observation of the enhancement in the $\psi(2S)\pi^-$, {\it {i.e.}} the $Z(4430)^-$ state, has generated a great deal of interest, because such a state must have minimum quark content ($c\bar{c}d\bar{u}$), so that it would represent the unequivocal manifestation of a four-quark meson state. Here we report recent BABAR results on the Y(4260), X(3872), Y(3940), and a search for the $Z(4430)^-$.