Measurements of the mass difference $m(B^0)-m(B^+)$ and the energy dependence of the cross-section ratio $\sigma(e^+e^-\to B^0\bar{B}^0) / \sigma(e^+e^-\to B^+B^-)$ at Belle and Belle II

TL;DR

This study precisely measures the mass difference between neutral and charged B mesons and investigates how the ratio of their production cross-sections varies with energy, challenging previous phase-space assumptions.

Contribution

The paper provides the first direct measurement of the energy dependence of the B meson cross-section ratio and tests the phase-space hypothesis with high precision using Belle and Belle II data.

Findings

Mass difference $m(B^0)-m(B^+)$ measured as 0.495 MeV/c$^2$

Phase-space hypothesis ${ m R}=(p_{B^0}/p_{B^+})^3$ is strongly disfavored

Energy dependence of ${ m R}$ constrained from threshold to 10.59 GeV

Abstract

Using data samples collected by the Belle and Belle II experiments at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with integrated luminosities of 571 fb$^{-1}$ and 365 fb$^{-1}$, respectively, we measure the pseudoscalar $B$-meson mass difference to be $m(B^0)-m(B^+) = (0.495\pm0.024\pm0.005)$ MeV/c$^2$. The results are based on a simultaneous fit to the variable $\tilde{M}_{bc}$, which is related to the $B$ momentum, for $B^0$ and $B^+$ candidates; and to the energy dependence of ${\cal R}=\sigma(e^+e^-\to B^0\bar{B}^0) / \sigma(e^+e^-\to B^+B^-)$, which is measured using changes in the average center-of-mass energy over the data taking periods. The phase-space hypothesis ${\cal R}=(p_{B^0}/p_{B^+})^3$, upon which previous measurements rely, is strongly disfavored by our fit; the measured mass-difference value for the phase-space hypothesis also differs significantly from our measurement. We constrain ${\cal R}$ in a broader energy range than covered by the direct measurement and extract the energy dependence of ${\cal R}$ in the range from the $B\bar{B}$ threshold up to 10.59 GeV. We interpret the results using a phenomenological model and constrain the parameters of the $B\bar{B}$ potential in the isovector channel.