Search

The four decays, ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{(*)++}{D}^{(*)-}{K}^{-}$, are observed for the first time using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. By considering the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}{\overline{D}}^0{K}^{-}$ decay as reference channel, the following branching fraction ratios are measured to be $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{++}{D}^{-}{K}^{-})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}{\overline{D}}^0{K}^{-})}=0.282\pm 0.016\pm 0.016\pm 0.005$, $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*++}{D}^{-}{K}^{-})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{++}{D}^{-}{K}^{-})}=0.460\pm 0.052\pm 0.028$, $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{++}{D}^{*-}{K}^{-})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{++}{D}^{-}{K}^{-})}=2.261\pm 0.202\pm 0.129\pm 0.046$, $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*++}{D}^{*-}{K}^{-})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{++}{D}^{-}{K}^{-})}=0.896\pm 0.137\pm 0.066\pm 0.018$, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, and the third are due to uncertainties in the branching fractions of intermediate particle decays. These initial observations mark the beginning of pentaquark searches in these modes, with more datasets to become available following the LHCb upgrade.

The branching fraction ratios of ${\overline{B}}^0\to D^{+}{\tau }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\tau }$ and ${\overline{B}}^0\to D^{*+}{\tau }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\tau }$ decays are measured with respect to their muonic counterparts, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $2.0{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$. The reconstructed final states are formed by combining $D^{+}$ mesons with ${\tau }^{-}\to {\mu }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }{\nu }_{\tau }$ candidates, where the $D^{+}$ is reconstructed via the $D^{+}\to K^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}$ decay. The results are $R(D^{+})=0.249\pm 0.043\pm 0.047$, $R(D^{*+})=0.402\pm 0.081\pm 0.085$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The two measurements have a correlation coefficient of $-0.39$ and are compatible with the standard model.

The first study of $J/\psi \varphi$ production in diffractive processes in proton-proton collisions is presented. The study is based on an LHCb dataset recorded at center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The data disfavor a nonresonant $J/\psi \varphi$ production but are consistent with a resonant model including several resonant states observed previously only in $B^{+}\to J/\psi \varphi K^{+}$ decays. The ${\chi }_{c0}(4500)$ state is observed with a significance over $6\sigma$ and the ${\chi }_{c1}(4274)$ is confirmed with a significance of more than $4\sigma$.

The ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_b^{0(-)}\to {\mathrm{\Xi }}_c(3055{)}^{+(0)}(\to D^{+(0)}\mathrm{\Lambda }){\pi }^{-}$ decay chains are observed, and the spin-parity of ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_c(3055{)}^{+(0)}$ baryons is determined for the first time. The measurement is performed using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, recorded by the LHCb experiment between 2016 and 2018. The spin-parity of the ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_c(3055{)}^{+(0)}$ baryons is determined to be $3/2^{+}$ with a significance of more than $6.5\sigma$ ($3.5\sigma$) compared to all other tested hypotheses. The up-down asymmetries of the ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_b^{0(-)}\to {\mathrm{\Xi }}_c(3055{)}^{+(0)}{\pi }^{-}$ transitions are measured to be $-0.92\pm 0.10\pm 0.05$ ($-0.92\pm 0.16\pm 0.22$), consistent with maximal parity violation, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. These results support the hypothesis that the ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_c(3055{)}^{+(0)}$ baryons correspond to the first $D$-wave $\lambda$-mode excitation of the ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_c$ flavor triplet.

A study of ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0$ and ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_b^0$ decays to $\mathrm{\Lambda }{h}^{+}{h}^{\prime -}$ ($h^{(\prime )}=\pi ,K$) is performed using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment during LHC Runs 1–2, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The branching fractions for these decays are measured using the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to {\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}(\to \mathrm{\Lambda }{\pi }^{+}){\pi }^{-}$ decay as a control channel. The decays ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to \mathrm{\Lambda }{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ and ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_b^0\to \mathrm{\Lambda }{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ are observed for the first time. For decay modes with sufficient signal yields, $CP$ asymmetries are measured in the full and localized regions of the final-state phase space. Evidence is found for $CP$ violation in the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to \mathrm{\Lambda }{K}^{+}{K}^{-}$ decay, interpreted as originating primarily from an asymmetric ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to N^{*+}{K}^{-}$ decay amplitude. The measured $CP$ asymmetries for other decays are compatible with zero.

An amplitude analysis of $B^{-}\to D^{-}{D}^0{K}_S^0$ decays is performed using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. A resonant structure of spin-parity $0^{+}$ is observed in the $D^0{K}_S^0$ invariant-mass spectrum with a significance of $5.3\sigma$. The mass and width of the state, modeled with a Breit-Wigner line shape, are determined to be $2883\pm 11\pm 8\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$ and ${87}_{-47}^{+22}\pm 17\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These properties and the quark content are consistent with those of the open-charm tetraquark candidate $T_{cs0}^{*}(2870{)}^0$ observed previously in the $D^{+}{K}^{-}$ final state of the $B^{-}\to D^{-}{D}^{+}{K}^{-}$ decay. This result confirms the existence of the $T_{cs0}^{*}(2870{)}^0$ state in a new decay mode. The $T_{cs1}^{*}(2900{)}^0$ state, reported in the $B^{-}\to D^{-}{D}^{+}{K}^{-}$ decay, is also searched for in the $D^0{K}_S^0$ invariant-mass spectrum of the $B^{-}\to D^{-}{D}^0{K}_S^0$ decay, without finding evidence for it.

A search for $CP$ violation in ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to p{K}^{-}$ and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_b^0\to p{\pi }^{-}$ decays is presented using the full Run 1 and Run 2 data samples of $pp$ collisions collected with the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. For the Run 2 data sample, the $CP$-violating asymmetries are measured to be $A_{CP}^{p{K}^{-}}=(-1.4\pm 0.7\pm 0.4)\%$ and $A_{CP}^{p{\pi }^{-}}=(0.4\pm 0.9\pm 0.4)\%$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. Following significant improvements in the evaluation of systematic uncertainties compared to the previous LHCb measurement, the Run 1 dataset is reanalyzed to update the corresponding results. When combining the Run 2 and updated Run 1 measurements, the final results are found to be $A_{CP}^{p{K}^{-}}=(-1.1\pm 0.7\pm 0.4)\%$ and $A_{CP}^{p{\pi }^{-}}=(0.2\pm 0.8\pm 0.4)\%$, constituting the most precise measurements of these asymmetries to date.

A flavor-tagged time-dependent angular analysis of the decay $B_s^0\to \varphi \varphi$ is performed using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at the center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The $CP$-violating phase and direct $CP$-violation parameter are measured to be ${\varphi }_s^{s\overline{s}s}=-0.042\pm 0.075\pm 0.009\mathrm{rad}$ and $|\lambda |=1.004\pm 0.030\pm 0.009$, respectively, assuming the same values for all polarization states of the $\varphi \varphi$ system. In these results, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These parameters are also determined separately for each polarization state, showing no evidence for polarization dependence. The results are combined with previous LHCb measurements using $pp$ collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, yielding ${\varphi }_s^{s\overline{s}s}=-0.074\pm 0.069\mathrm{rad}$ and $|\lambda |=1.009\pm 0.030$. This is the most precise study of time-dependent $CP$ violation in a penguin-dominated $B$ meson decay. The results are consistent with $CP$ symmetry and with the standard model predictions.

The fraction of ${\chi }_{c1}$ and ${\chi }_{c2}$ decays in the prompt $J/\psi$ yield, $F_{{\chi }_c\to J/\psi }={\sigma }_{{\chi }_c\to J/\psi }/{\sigma }_{J/\psi }$, is measured by the LHCb detector in $p\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=8.16\mathrm{TeV}$. The study covers the forward ($1.5<y^{*}<4.0$) and backward ($-5.0<y^{*}<-2.5$) rapidity regions, where $y^{*}$ is the $J/\psi$ rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass system. Forward and backward rapidity samples correspond to integrated luminosities of $13.6\pm 0.3$ and $20.8\pm 0.5{\mathrm{nb}}^{-1}$, respectively. The result is presented as a function of the $J/\psi$ transverse momentum $p_{\mathrm{T},J/\psi }$ in the range $1<p_{\mathrm{T},J/\psi }<20\mathrm{GeV}/c$. The $F_{{\chi }_c\to J/\psi }$ fraction at forward rapidity is compatible with the LHCb measurement performed in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7\mathrm{TeV}$, whereas the result at backward rapidity is $2.4\sigma$ larger than in the forward region for $1<p_{\mathrm{T},J/\psi }<3\mathrm{GeV}/c$. The increase of $F_{{\chi }_c\to J/\psi }$ at low $p_{\mathrm{T},J/\psi }$ at backward rapidity is compatible with the suppression of the $\psi (2S)$ contribution to the prompt $J/\psi$ yield. The lack of in-medium dissociation of ${\chi }_c$ states observed in this study sets an upper limit of 180 MeV on the free energy available in these $p\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions to dissociate or inhibit charmonium state formation.

The transverse polarization of $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ and $\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}$ hyperons is measured in $p\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The polarization is averaged over hyperon transverse momentum in the range $0.15<p_{\mathrm{T}}<6.00\mathrm{GeV}/c$, and Feynman-$x$ in the ranges $0.005<x_{\mathrm{F}}<0.040$ (forward region) and $-0.10<x_{\mathrm{F}}<-0.01$ (backward region) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The transverse polarization is found to be compatible with zero for both $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ and $\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}$ hyperons. The results are also measured as a function of $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ and $x_{\mathrm{F}}$ with no significant dependence on these variables observed. The results are compared with previous experimental measurements at different center-of-mass energies and collision environments.

A search for $K_{\mathrm{S}(\mathrm{L})}^0\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ decays is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. No $K_{\mathrm{S}(\mathrm{L})}^0\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ signals are found and upper limits are set for the first time on the branching fractions $\mathcal{B}(K_{\mathrm{S}}^0\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-})<1.4\times {10}^{-9}$ and $\mathcal{B}(K_{\mathrm{L}}^0\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-})<6.6\times {10}^{-7}$, at the 90% confidence level.

The first observation of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{-}{K}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Xi }}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ decays is reported, using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector between 2016 and 2018. The branching fraction ratios are measured to be $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{-}{K}^{+})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{-}{\pi }^{+})}=[6.08\pm 0.51(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.40(\mathrm{syst})]\%,\frac{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Xi }}^{-}{\pi }^{+})}{\mathcal{B}({\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{-}{\pi }^{+})}=[15.81\pm 0.87(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.44(\mathrm{syst})\pm 0.16(\mathrm{ext})]\%.$ In addition, using the ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0\to {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ decay channel, the ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0$ baryon mass is measured to be $M({\mathrm{\Omega }}_c^0)=2695.28\pm 0.07(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.27(\mathrm{syst})\pm 0.30(\mathrm{ext})\mathrm{MeV},$ improving the precision of the previous world average by a factor of 4.

A study of resonant structures in $B^{+}\to D^{*+}{D}^{-}{K}^{+}$ and $B^{+}\to D^{*-}{D}^{+}{K}^{+}$ decays is performed, using proton-proton collision data at center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}=7$, 8, and 13 TeV recorded by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. A simultaneous amplitude fit is performed to the two channels with contributions from resonances decaying to $D^{*-}{D}^{+}$ and $D^{*+}{D}^{-}$ states linked by $C$ parity. This procedure allows the $C$ parities of resonances in the $D^{*\pm }{D}^{\mp }$ mass spectra to be determined. Four charmonium or charmoniumlike states are observed decaying into $D^{*\pm }{D}^{\mp }$: ${\eta }_c(3945)$, $h_c(4000)$, ${\chi }_{c1}(4010)$, and $h_c(4300)$, with quantum numbers $J^{PC}$ equal to $0^{-+}$, $1^{+-}$, $1^{++}$, and $1^{+-}$, respectively. At least three of these states have not been observed previously. In addition, the existence of the $T_{\overline{c}\overline{s}0}^{*}(2870{)}^0$ and $T_{\overline{c}\overline{s}1}^{*}(2900{)}^0$ resonances in the $D^{-}{K}^{+}$ mass spectrum, already observed in the $B^{+}\to D^{+}{D}^{-}{K}^{+}$ decay, is confirmed in a different production channel.

The LHCb Collaboration measures production of the exotic hadron ${\chi }_{c1}(3872)$ in proton-nucleus collisions for the first time. Comparison with the charmonium state $\psi (2S)$ suggests that the exotic ${\chi }_{c1}(3872)$ experiences different dynamics in the nuclear medium than conventional hadrons, and comparison with data from proton-proton collisions indicates that the presence of the nucleus may modify ${\chi }_{c1}(3872)$ production rates. This is the first measurement of the nuclear modification factor of an exotic hadron.

The first observation of the doubly charmed baryon ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_{cc}^{+}$ is reported through its decay to the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ final state, with a statistical significance exceeding seven standard deviations. The observation is made using proton-proton collision data collected in 2024 with the LHCb Run 3 detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13.6 TeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of $6.9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_{cc}^{+}$ mass is measured to be $3619.97\pm 0.83\pm {0.26}_{-1.30}^{+1.90}\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the unknown ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_{cc}^{+}$ lifetime, which is assumed to lie in the range 15–160 fs with a baseline value of 45 fs. The difference between the masses of the ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_{cc}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_{cc}^{++}$ baryons is determined to be $-1.77\pm 0.84\pm {0.15}_{-1.30}^{+1.90}\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$. This is the first observation of a new particle made with the LHCb Run 3 detector.

The onset of nuclear effects in light-ion collisions is studied by measuring the ratio of $D^0$ meson production between NeNe and OO collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.36 TeV recorded by the LHCb detector. The $D^0$ meson yields are measured differentially in transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) for $0.5<p_{\mathrm{T}}<20\mathrm{GeV}$ in the rapidity ($y$) region $2.0<y<4.5$, and are normalized to the total number of recorded inelastic nucleus-nucleus collisions in each data sample. The resulting production ratio shows evidence of variation as a function of $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, which is inconsistent with predictions based on nuclear modification of nucleon structure alone. This measurement is consistent with the onset of quark-gluon plasma production with increasing nucleus size in high-energy nuclear collisions.

A search is performed for lepton-number-violating $B^{-}\to D^{(*)+}{\mu }^{-}{\mu }^{-}$ decays, using data collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. No significant signal is observed, and upper limits are set on the branching fractions, $\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{+}{\mu }^{-}{\mu }^{-})<4.6\times {10}^{-8}$ and $\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{*+}{\mu }^{-}{\mu }^{-})<5.9\times {10}^{-8}$, at the 95% confidence level.

The first observation of the ${\chi }_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ decay is reported using proton-proton collision data recorded with the LHCb detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The decay mode is observed for the first time, with a significance of $6.5\sigma$. Its branching fraction is measured relative to the ${\chi }_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ decay mode $\frac{\mathcal{B}({\chi }_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-})}{\mathcal{B}({\chi }_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-})}=(1.68\pm 0.32\pm 0.05)\times {10}^{-3}$, where the first uncertainty includes both statistical contributions and systematic contributions which are uncorrelated between data-taking periods, and the second represents the systematic contributions that are correlated between data-taking periods.

An amplitude analysis of the $B^0\to K^{*0}{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ decay is presented using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $4.7{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected with the LHCb experiment. For the first time, the coefficients associated to short-distance physics effects, sensitive to processes beyond the standard model, are extracted directly from the data through a $q^2$-unbinned amplitude analysis, where $q^2$ is the ${\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ invariant mass squared. Long-distance contributions, which originate from nonfactorizable QCD processes, are systematically investigated, and the most accurate assessment to date of their impact on the physical observables is obtained. The pattern of measured corrections to the short-distance couplings is found to be consistent with previous analyses of $b$- to $s$-quark transitions, with the largest discrepancy from the standard model predictions found to be at the level of 1.8 standard deviations. The global significance of the observed differences in the decay is 1.4 standard deviations.

The decay-time-dependent $CP$ asymmetry in $B_s^0\to J/\psi (\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-})K^{+}{K}^{-}$ decays is measured using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Using a sample of approximately 349 000 $B_s^0$ signal decays with an invariant $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ mass in the vicinity of the $\varphi (1020)$ resonance, the $CP$-violating phase ${\varphi }_s$ is measured, along with the difference in decay widths of the light and heavy mass eigenstates of the $B_s^0\text{−}{\overline{B}}_s^0$ system, $\mathrm{\Delta }{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_s$, and the difference of the average $B_s^0$ and $B^0$ meson decay widths, ${\mathrm{\Gamma }}_s-{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_d$. The values obtained are ${\varphi }_s=-0.039\pm 0.022\pm 0.006\mathrm{rad}$, $\mathrm{\Delta }{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_s=0.0845\pm 0.0044\pm 0.0024{\mathrm{ps}}^{-1}$, and ${\mathrm{\Gamma }}_s-{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_d=-0.0056_{-0.0015}^{+0.0013}\pm 0.0014{\mathrm{ps}}^{-1}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. These are the most precise single measurements to date and are consistent with expectations based on the Standard Model and with the previous LHCb analyses of this decay. These results are combined with previous independent LHCb measurements. The phase ${\varphi }_s$ is also measured independently for each polarization state of the $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ system and shows no evidence for polarization dependence.