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First Evidence for the Decay Bs0μ+μ

R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration)
Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 021801 – Published 7 January 2013
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Abstract

A search for the rare decays Bs0μ+μ and B0μ+μ is performed with data collected in 2011 and 2012 with the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The data samples comprise 1.1fb1 of proton-proton collisions at s=8TeV and 1.0fb1 at s=7TeV. We observe an excess of Bs0μ+μ candidates with respect to the background expectation. The probability that the background could produce such an excess or larger is 5.3×104 corresponding to a signal significance of 3.5 standard deviations. A maximum-likelihood fit gives a branching fraction of B(Bs0μ+μ)=(3.21.2+1.5)×109, where the statistical uncertainty is 95% of the total uncertainty. This result is in agreement with the standard model expectation. The observed number of B0μ+μ candidates is consistent with the background expectation, giving an upper limit of B(B0μ+μ)<9.4×1010 at 95% confidence level.

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  • Received 12 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.021801

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

© 2013 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration

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Mixed Feelings About a Rare Event

Published 7 January 2013

Measurement of a rare-meson decay is an experimental achievement worth celebrating, but so far, no new physics beyond the standard model is indicated.

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Vol. 110, Iss. 2 — 11 January 2013

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