SU(3) flavor symmetry analysis of hyperon non-leptonic two body decays

TL;DR

This paper systematically analyzes hyperon non-leptonic two-body decays using SU(3) flavor symmetry, incorporating symmetry-breaking effects, and fits experimental data to predict decay parameters, revealing potential deviations indicating new physics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive SU(3) flavor symmetry framework with symmetry-breaking effects to analyze hyperon decays, combining IRA and TDA methods for improved predictions.

Findings

Successful fit to experimental decay data

Identification of significant SU(3) symmetry-breaking effects

Potential indication of new physics in $oldsymbol{ ext{Σ}^+ ightarrow p ext{π}^0}$ decay

Abstract

This paper present a systematic study of hyperon non-leptonic two-body decays induced by light quark transitions, particularly the $s \rightarrow u\bar{u}d$ process, within the framework of SU(3) flavor symmetry. The effective weak Hamiltonian is decomposed into irreducible SU(3) representations, including the 27-plet and octet components, and applied to analyze decays of octet and decuplet baryons and charmed baryons. Both the irreducible representation amplitude (IRA) approach and the topological diagrammatic analysis (TDA) are employed to construct decay amplitudes and constrain the parameter space. SU(3) symmetry-breaking effects arising from the strange quark mass are incorporated systematically. A global fit to current experimental data allows us to extract form factors and predict branching ratios and asymmetry parameters for several decay channels, including $\Lambda^0 \rightarrow p\pi^-$, $\Sigma^+ \rightarrow p\pi^0$, and $\Omega^- \rightarrow \Xi^0\pi^-$. Our results demonstrate the predictive power of SU(3) flavor symmetry while highlighting significant symmetry-breaking effects, especially in amplitudes related to the 27-plet. Notably, the $\Sigma^+ \rightarrow p\pi^0$ decay channel exhibits a deviation exceeding $1\sigma$ from experimental measurements, suggesting the possible presence of new decay mechanisms or contributions beyond the Standard Model. This work provides a systematic framework for future tests of the Standard Model and the search for new physics in hyperon decays.