Prospect for measuring the branching ratio of $B_{s}\to\mu\mu$ at LHCb

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential for measuring the rare decay B_s -> mu mu at LHCb, emphasizing analysis methods, calibration techniques, and expected sensitivities to test Standard Model predictions and explore new physics.

Contribution

It presents a detailed analysis strategy for measuring the B_s -> mu mu branching ratio at LHCb, including calibration, normalization, and statistical methods, with performance projections.

Findings

LHCb can measure the branching ratio within the Standard Model prediction range.

Analysis techniques reduce dependence on simulation through control channels.

Projected sensitivity allows exclusion or observation of new physics scenarios.

Abstract

The Standard Model predicts a branching ratio for the decay mode Bs -> mu mu of (3.4 +/- 0.5)10e-9, while some SUSY models predict enhancements up to 2 orders of magnitude. It is expected that at the end of its life Tevatron will set and exclusion limit for this branching ratio of the order of 10e-8, leaving one order of magnitude to explore. The excellent vertex reconstruction, invariant mass resolution and muon identification of the LHCb detector make it well suited to observe a branching ratio in this range in the first years of running of LHC. In this article an overview of the analysis that has been developed for the measurement of this branching ratio is presented. The event selection and the statistical tools used for the extraction of the branching ratio are discussed. A special stress is put on the use of control channels for calibration and normalization in order to make the analysis as independent of simulation as possible. Finally, the expected performance in terms of exclusion and observation significance are given for a set of values of integrated luminosities.