Study of $B^{\pm ,0}\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}^{\pm ,0}$ and search for $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi$ at BaBar

We study the rare $B$ meson decays $B^{\pm ,0}\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}^{\pm ,0}$, $B^{\pm ,0}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{\pm ,0}$, and search for $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi$, using $469\times {10}^6$ $B\overline{B}$ events collected at the $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(4S)$ resonance with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ asymmetric energy collider. We present new measurements of branching fractions and a study of the $J/\psi \varphi$ mass distribution in search of new charmonium-like states. In addition, we search for the decay $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi$ and find no evidence of a signal.

Figure 1

The $m_{\mathrm{ES}}$ distributions for (a) $B^{+}\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}^{+}$ and (b) $B^0\to J/\psi K^{-}{K}^{+}{K}_S^0$, for the $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ regions indicated in the text. The $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ distributions for $m_{\mathrm{ES}}>5.27\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ are shown for (c) $B^{+}\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}^{+}$ and (d) $B^0\to J/\psi K^{-}{K}^{+}{K}_S^0$. The continuous (red) curve represents the signal plus background, while the dotted (blue) curve represents the fitted background. Vertical (blue) lines indicate the selected signal regions.

Figure 2

(a) The $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ mass spectrum, (c) $m_{\mathrm{ES}}$, and (e) $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ distribution for $B^{+}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{+}$. (b) The $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ mass spectrum, (d) $m_{\mathrm{ES}}$ , and (f) $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ distribution for $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi K_S^0$. The dots are the data points, and the shaded (yellow) distributions are obtained from the $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ sidebands. Vertical (blue) lines indicate the selected signal regions. In (a) and (b) the $m_{\mathrm{ES}}$ and $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ selection criteria described in Sec. 2 have been applied.

Figure 3

(a) The $m_{\mathrm{ES}}$ and (b) $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ distribution for $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi$ event candidates. The curves in (a) and (b) are the result of the fits described in the text.

Figure 4

Efficiency distribution on the Dalitz plot for (a) $B^{+}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{+}$ and (b) $B^0\to J/\psi \varphi K_S^0$.

Figure 5

Invariant mass distribution $J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}$ for (a) $B^{+}\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}^{+}$ and (b) $B^0\to J/\psi K^{+}{K}^{-}{K}_S^0$. The shaded (yellow) histogram on each figure indicates the background estimated from the $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ sidebands.

Figure 6

Dalitz plot projections for $B^{+}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{+}$ on (a) $m_{J/\psi \varphi }^2$, (b) $m_{\varphi K^{+}}^2$, and (c) $m_{J/\psi K^{+}}^2$. The continuous (red) curves are the results from fit model A performed including the $X(4140)$ and $X(4270)$ resonances. The dashed (blue) curve in (a) indicates the projection for fit model D, with no resonances. The shaded (yellow) histograms indicate the background estimated from the $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ sidebands.

Figure 7

Projections on the $J/\psi \varphi$ mass spectrum from the Dalitz plot fit with the $X(4140)$ and the $X(4270)$ resonances for the (a) $B^{+}$, (b) $B^0$, and (c) combined $B^{+}$ and $B^0$ data samples. The continuous (red) curves result from the fit; the dashed (blue) curve in (a) indicates the projection for fit model D, with no resonances. The shaded (yellow) histograms show the background contributions estimated from the $\mathrm{\Delta }E$ sidebands.

Figure 8

(a) Average efficiency distribution as a function of $J/\psi \varphi$ invariant mass for $B^{+}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{+}$. (b) Efficiency-corrected $J/\psi \varphi$ mass spectrum for the combined $B^{+}$ and $B^0$ samples. The curve is the result from fit model A described in the text. The shaded (yellow) histogram represents the efficiency-corrected background contribution. (c) Efficiency-corrected and background-subtracted $J/\psi \varphi$ mass spectrum for the combined $B^{+}$ and $B^0$ samples.