Search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decays B^+ -> mu^+ mu^- K^+ and B^0 -> mu^+ mu^-K^{*0}

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for rare flavor-changing neutral current decays of B mesons into muons and kaons, setting upper limits on their branching fractions due to no observed evidence.

Contribution

First search for B^+ -> mu^+ mu^- K^+ and B^0 -> mu^+ mu^- K^{*0} decays using Fermilab data, establishing new upper limits on their branching ratios.

Findings

No evidence found for the decays.

Upper limits set on branching fractions.

Data constrains new physics models.

Abstract

We report on a search for the flavor-changing neutral current decays B^+ -> mu^+ mu^- K^+ and B^0 -> mu^+ mu^- K^{*0} using 88 pb^{-1} of data from p-pbar collisions at \sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV, collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Finding no evidence for these decays, we set upper limits on the branching fractions B(B^+ -> mu^+ mu^- K^+) < 5.2x10^{-6} and B(B^0 -> mu^+ mu^-K^{*0}) < 4.0x10^{-6} at the 90% confidence level.