Study of $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+$ and $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ decays in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper measures branching ratios and polarization in specific $B_c^+$ decays using 13 TeV proton-proton collision data, providing more precise results than previous studies and comparing them with theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It presents the most precise measurements to date of branching ratios and polarization fractions for $B_c^+$ decays at 13 TeV, surpassing earlier ATLAS results and comparing with theory.

Findings

Branching ratio of $B_c^+ o J/ au D_s^+$ relative to $J/ au o au u$

Transverse polarization fraction of $B_c^+ o J/ au D_s^{*+}$ decay

Results are more precise than previous measurements

Abstract

A study of $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+$ and $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ decays using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV $pp$ collisions at the LHC is presented. The ratios of the branching fractions of the two decays to the branching fraction of the $B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+$ decay are measured: $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+)/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+) = 2.76\pm 0.47$ and $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+})/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+) = 5.33\pm 0.96$. The ratio of the branching fractions of the two decays is found to be $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+})/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+) = 1.93\pm0.26$. For the $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ decay, the transverse polarization fraction, $\Gamma_{\pm\pm}/\Gamma$, is measured to be $0.70\pm0.11$. The reported uncertainties include both the statistical and systematic components added in quadrature. The precision of the measurements exceeds that in all previous studies of these decays. These results supersede those obtained in the earlier ATLAS study of the same decays with $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and 8 TeV $pp$ collision data. A comparison with available theoretical predictions for the measured quantities is presented.