A Search for the Decay B0 -> pi0 pi0

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for the rare decay B^0 -> pi^0 pi^0 using data from the BABAR experiment, setting an upper limit on its branching fraction at 3.6 x 10^{-6} with 90% confidence.

Contribution

The study provides the first upper limit on the B^0 -> pi^0 pi^0 decay branching fraction based on extensive data from the BABAR experiment.

Findings

Upper limit on B(B^0 -> pi^0 pi^0) < 3.6 x 10^{-6} at 90% CL

Data from approximately 88 million B B̄ pairs analyzed

Preliminary result indicating no observation of the decay

Abstract

We present a search for the decay B^0 --> pi^0 pi^0 by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B-factory at SLAC. Using approximately 88 million B bar{B} pairs collected between 1999 and 2002, we place a 90% confidence level upper limit on the branching fraction of B(B^0 --> pi^0 pi^0) < 3.6 times 10^{-6}. This result is preliminary.