Observation of new excited Σc0 states in the B−→Λc+pπ− decay
Using 9 fb⁻¹ of proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb detector, an amplitude analysis of the B−→Λc+pπ− decay confirms the known Σc(2455)0, Σc(2520)0, and Σc(2800)0 states while discovering two new excited charm baryons, Σc(2900)0 and Σc(3200)0, thereby significantly expanding the landscape of charm baryon spectroscopy.
Original authors: LHCb collaboration, R. Aaij, M. Abdelfatah, A. S. W. Abdelmotteleb, C. Abellan Beteta, F. Abudinén, T. Ackernley, A. A. Adefisoye, B. Adeva, M. Adinolfi, P. Adlarson, C. Agapopoulou, C. A. Aidala, S. Akar, K. Akiba, P. Albicocco, J. Albrecht, R. Aleksiejunas, F. Alessio, P. Alvarez Cartelle, S. Amato, J. L. Amey, Y. Amhis, L. An, L. Anderlini, M. Andersson, P. Andreola, M. Andreotti, S. Andres Estrada, A. Anelli, D. Ao, C. Arata, F. Archilli, Z. Areg, M. Argenton, S. Arguedas Cuendis, L. Arnone, M. Artuso, E. Aslanides, R. Ataíde Da Silva, M. Atzeni, B. Audurier, J. A. Authier, D. Bacher, I. Bachiller Perea, S. Bachmann, M. Bachmayer, J. J. Back, Z. B. Bai, V. Balagura, A. Balboni, W. Baldini, Z. Baldwin, L. Balzani, H. Bao, J. Baptista de Souza Leite, C. Barbero Pretel, M. Barbetti, I. R. Barbosa, R. J. Barlow, M. Barnyakov, S. Barsuk, W. Barter, J. Bartz, S. Bashir, B. Batsukh, P. B. Battista, A. Bavarchee, A. Bay, A. Beck, M. Becker, F. Bedeschi, I. B. Bediaga, N. A. Behling, S. Belin, A. Bellavista, I. Belov, I. Belyaev, G. Bencivenni, E. Ben-Haim, R. Bernet, A. Bertolin, F. Betti, J. Bex, O. Bezshyyko, S. Bhattacharya, M. S. Bieker, N. V. Biesuz, A. Biolchini, M. Birch, F. C. R. Bishop, A. Bitadze, A. Bizzeti, T. Blake, F. Blanc, J. E. Blank, S. Blusk, J. A. Boelhauve, O. Boente Garcia, T. Boettcher, A. Bohare, C. Bolognani, R. Bolzonella, R. B. Bonacci, A. Bordelius, F. Borgato, S. Borghi, M. Borsato, J. T. Borsuk, E. Bottalico, S. A. Bouchiba, M. Bovill, T. J. V. Bowcock, A. Boyer, C. Bozzi, J. D. Brandenburg, A. Brea Rodriguez, N. Breer, C. Breitfeld, J. Brodzicka, J. Brown, D. Brundu, E. Buchanan, M. Burgos Marcos, C. Burr, C. Buti, J. S. Butter, J. Buytaert, W. Byczynski, S. Cadeddu, H. Cai, Y. Cai, A. Caillet, R. Calabrese, L. Calefice, M. Calvi, M. Calvo Gomez, P. Camargo Magalhaes, J. I. Cambon Bouzas, P. Campana, A. C. Campos, A. F. Campoverde Quezada, Y. Cao, S. Capelli, M. Caporale, L. Capriotti, R. Caravaca-Mora, A. Carbone, L. Carcedo Salgado, R. Cardinale, A. Cardini, P. Carniti, L. Carus, A. Casais Vidal, R. Caspary, G. Casse, M. Cattaneo, G. Cavallero, V. Cavallini, S. Celani, I. Celestino, S. Cesare, A. J. Chadwick, I. Chahrour, M. Charles, Ph. Charpentier, E. Chatzianagnostou, R. Cheaib, M. Chefdeville, C. Chen, J. Chen, S. Chen, Z. Chen, A. Chen Hu, M. Cherif, S. Chernyshenko, X. Chiotopoulos, G. Chizhik, V. Chobanova, M. Chrzaszcz, V. Chulikov, P. Ciambrone, X. Cid Vidal, P. Cifra, P. E. L. Clarke, M. Clemencic, H. V. Cliff, J. Closier, C. Cocha Toapaxi, V. Coco, J. Cogan, E. Cogneras, L. Cojocariu, S. Collaviti, P. Collins, T. Colombo, M. Colonna, A. Comerma-Montells, L. Congedo, J. Connaughton, A. Contu, N. Cooke, G. Cordova, C. Coronel, I. Corredoira, A. Correia, G. Corti, G. C. Costantino, J. Cottee Meldrum, B. Couturier, D. C. Craik, N. Crepet, M. Cruz Torres, M. Cubero Campos, E. Curras Rivera, R. Currie, C. L. Da Silva, X. Dai, J. Dalseno, C. D'Ambrosio, G. Darze, A. Davidson, J. E. Davies, O. De Aguiar Francisco, C. De Angelis, F. De Benedetti, J. de Boer, K. De Bruyn, S. De Capua, M. De Cian, U. De Freitas Carneiro Da Graca, E. De Lucia, J. M. De Miranda, L. De Paula, M. De Serio, P. De Simone, F. De Vellis, J. A. de Vries, F. Debernardis, D. Decamp, S. Dekkers, L. Del Buono, B. Delaney, J. Deng, V. Denysenko, O. Deschamps, F. Dettori, B. Dey, P. Di Nezza, S. Ding, Y. Ding, L. Dittmann, A. D. Docheva, A. Doheny, C. Dong, F. Dordei, A. C. dos Reis, A. D. Dowling, L. Dreyfus, W. Duan, P. Duda, L. Dufour, V. Duk, P. Durante, M. M. Duras, J. M. Durham, O. D. Durmus, K. Duwe, A. Dziurda, S. Easo, E. Eckstein, U. Egede, S. Eisenhardt, E. Ejopu, L. Eklund, M. Elashri, D. Elizondo Blanco, J. Ellbracht, S. Ely, A. Ene, J. Eschle, T. Evans, F. Fabiano, S. Faghih, L. N. Falcao, B. Fang, R. Fantechi, L. Fantini, M. Faria, K. Farmer, F. Fassin, D. Fazzini, L. Felkowski, C. Feng, M. Feng, A. Fernandez Casani, M. Fernandez Gomez, A. D. Fernez, F. Ferrari, F. Ferreira Rodrigues, M. 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Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Imagine the universe is a giant, cosmic LEGO set. For decades, physicists have been building and cataloging the different shapes you can make with these tiny, invisible bricks called quarks. Most of the time, they've been looking at the "ground floor" models—the basic, stable structures. But the real fun is in the excited states: the wobbly, spinning, vibrating versions of these particles that only exist for a split second before falling apart.
In this latest adventure, the LHCb collaboration at CERN acted like high-speed detectives, sifting through a mountain of data from proton-proton collisions. They were looking at a specific decay process: a heavy particle called a B− meson breaking apart into a trio of children: a Λc+ baryon, a proton (p), and a pion (π−).
The Main Discovery: A New Family of Excited States
When the team looked at the "invariant mass" (a fancy way of measuring the combined weight and energy) of the Λc+ and the π−, they found something exciting. They saw the familiar, well-known characters: the Σc(2455)0, Σc(2520)0, and Σc(2800)0. These are like the old, reliable LEGO sets everyone knows.
But then, they spotted two brand-new, never-before-seen characters hiding in the data: the Σc(2900)0 and the Σc(3200)0.
Think of it like listening to a band play a song. You hear the main melody (the known particles), but then you realize there are two new, distinct instruments playing a harmony you've never heard before. The team used a technique called "amplitude analysis" to separate these overlapping sounds. They found that the "bump" in the data around 2.8 GeV/c2 (which previous experiments thought was just one messy particle) was actually two distinct particles playing together: the old Σc(2800)0 and this new Σc(2900)0.
The "Who Are They?" Mystery
Here is where the story gets a bit fuzzy, and the paper is very careful about it. While the team is statistically very confident that these new particles exist (they measured them with a significance of 12.0 sigma for the 3200 state and 7.5 sigma for the pair at 2.8 GeV/c2), they cannot yet determine exactly what they are.
In the world of particle physics, every particle has a "spin" and a "parity" (imagine it as the direction it spins and whether it's a mirror image of itself). The paper tested six different possibilities for these new states. They found two main groups of answers that fit the data equally well, and the data cannot tell us which one is the "real" answer:
- Group A: Suggests the new particles might have spins of 3/2, 1/2, and 3/2.
- Group B: Suggests a different mix, like 1/2, 1/2, and 3/2.
The paper explicitly states that these two solution families are "statistically indistinguishable." It's like having two different blueprints for a new house that both fit the empty lot perfectly; you know the house is being built, but you don't know which blueprint the architect chose yet.
What They Ruled Out
The team was very strict about what they didn't find.
- They ruled out the idea that the messy bump at 2.8 GeV/c2 was just a single, confused particle. The math simply didn't work unless they added a second particle (Σc(2900)0).
- They also checked for other types of "noise" or background effects, like a specific type of resonance in the Λc+p system, but found that tightening their selection criteria didn't change the results. The new particles are real, not an illusion caused by the detector.
- They also found that a specific type of "P-wave" non-resonant background (a kind of random noise) was negligible and didn't need to be included in their final model.
The Numbers and the Confidence
The team measured the masses and widths (how long they live) of these new states with high precision, though they have to report two sets of numbers because of the "Group A vs. Group B" mystery.
- The Σc(3200)0 is measured to have a mass of 3.186 ± 0.006 ± 0.015 GeV/c2 and a width of 0.133 ± 0.018 ± 0.046 GeV. This measurement is consistent across both groups, so the team is very confident in these specific numbers.
- The Σc(2900)0 has a mass of roughly 2.91 GeV/c2, but its width (how broad the signal is) changes significantly depending on which group of solutions you pick.
- The Σc(2800)0 also shows a split personality: in one solution, it's a narrow particle; in the other, it's much broader.
Why This Matters
This isn't just about adding new names to a list. It's about understanding the "rules of the game" for how quarks stick together. The paper suggests these new states might be excited versions of the Σc baryon, perhaps vibrating in a "2S" or "1P" mode (imagine the quarks bouncing in a higher energy orbit). However, the paper stops short of saying "This is definitely a 2S state." It says these measurements provide "crucial data" to help theorists figure out the internal structure of these heavy-light baryons.
In short, the LHCb team has opened a new door in the house of particle physics. They've proven that there are two new rooms (the Σc(2900)0 and Σc(3200)0) that we didn't know about, and they've given us the exact coordinates of the doors. But they are still waiting for the architects (theoretical physicists) to tell us exactly what furniture is inside.
Technical Summary: Observation of new excited Σc0 states in the B−→Λc+pπ− decay
Problem and Motivation
The spectroscopy of singly heavy baryons serves as a critical laboratory for understanding low-energy strong interactions and verifying theoretical models of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). While the ground states of charmed baryons, such as Λc+ and Σc, are well-established, the spectrum of excited states remains incomplete. Theoretical models predict a rich resonance spectrum arising from radial and orbital excitations (both ρ-mode and λ-mode) combined with spin interactions. Previous experimental efforts, notably by CLEO and Belle, have identified the lower-mass Σc(2455), Σc(2520), and the excited Σc(2800). However, the nature of the Σc(2800) remains ambiguous; a 2008 BaBar analysis of the B−→Λc+pπ− decay suggested a mass inconsistent with Belle's inclusive production results, hinting at potential mixing or the existence of additional states. Furthermore, higher-mass regions (2S, 1D, and 2P-wave excitations) require experimental verification to constrain theoretical calculations regarding baryon structure and dynamics.
Methodology
This study performs an amplitude analysis of the B−→Λc+pπ− decay using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb detector. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1, recorded at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV.
- Event Selection: B− candidates are reconstructed by combining Λc+ (via Λc+→pK−π+), proton, and π− candidates. Strict topological and kinematic requirements are applied, including particle identification (PID) via Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, vertex fit quality, and displacement from the primary vertex. A Boosted Decision Tree (BDT) classifier suppresses combinatorial background.
- Signal Extraction: An unbinned maximum-likelihood fit to the mΛc+pπ− invariant mass distribution identifies the signal yield, combinatorial background, and partially reconstructed B→Λc+pπ−π background. Approximately 37.0×103 signal events are extracted.
- Amplitude Analysis: A Dalitz plot analysis is performed on the signal region candidates. To mitigate the impact of an unexplained Λc+p threshold enhancement and the overwhelming Σc(2455)0 resonance, the fit is restricted to regions where mΛc+p2>16 GeV2/c4 and mΛc+π−2>6.25 GeV2/c4.
- Modeling: The total probability density function (PDF) includes contributions from intermediate resonances (Σc∗∗0→Λc+π− and Δ∗∗−−→pπ−) and a non-resonant (NR) component. Resonances are modeled using relativistic Breit-Wigner functions with Blatt-Weisskopf form factors. The analysis tests various spin-parity (JP) hypotheses (1/2±,3/2±,5/2±) for the new states.
- Systematics: Extensive systematic uncertainties are evaluated, including background fraction variations, efficiency modeling, track reconstruction, PID, resonance radii, and alternative models (e.g., K-matrix formalism).
Key Results
The amplitude analysis reveals the necessity of including two new excited Σc0 states to describe the Λc+π− invariant mass spectrum, in addition to the known Σc(2455)0, Σc(2520)0, and Σc(2800)0.
- New States: Two new states are observed:
- Σc(2900)0: A state with a mass around 2.91 GeV/c2.
- Σc(3200)0: A state with a mass around 3.19 GeV/c2.
- Resolution of Σc(2800)0: The structure previously reported as a single Σc(2800)0 by BaBar is resolved into two overlapping states in this analysis: the known Σc(2800)0 and the newly observed Σc(2900)0.
- Significance:
- The hypothesis of two resonances (Σc(2800)0 and Σc(2900)0) is favored over a single-resonance hypothesis with a significance of 7.5σ.
- The Σc(3200)0 state is observed with a significance of 12.0σ.
- Spin-Parity Ambiguity: The analysis yields two statistically indistinguishable solution groups (Group A and Group B) with different JP assignments and fit fractions, though the mass and width of the Σc(3200)0 are consistent across both.
- Group A (Baseline): Suggests JP=3/2+ for Σc(2800)0, 1/2− for Σc(2900)0, and 3/2− for Σc(3200)0. The mass and width of Σc(2800)0 in this group are consistent with Belle's inclusive measurements.
- Group B: Suggests JP=1/2−, 1/2+, and 3/2− for the three states, respectively. This group shows discrepancies with the Belle results regarding the Σc(2800)0 and Σc(2900)0 parameters.
- Measured Properties (Group A Baseline):
- Σc(2800)0: m=2.819±0.006±0.002 GeV/c2, Γ=0.033±0.007±0.008 GeV.
- Σc(2900)0: m=2.908±0.005±0.009 GeV/c2, Γ=0.175±0.008±0.023 GeV.
- Σc(3200)0: m=3.186±0.006±0.015 GeV/c2, Γ=0.133±0.018±0.046 GeV.
- The fit fractions of these high-mass states relative to Σc(2455)0 are found to be comparable.
Significance
This paper reports the first observation of excited Σc0 states in over two decades. By resolving the Σc(2800)0 structure into two distinct states and identifying the new Σc(3200)0, the analysis significantly expands the landscape of charm baryon spectroscopy. The measured masses and widths provide crucial experimental data for testing theoretical predictions regarding 2S, 1D, and 2P-wave excitations in singly heavy baryons. The results offer new constraints for understanding the internal structure and low-energy dynamics of baryons containing both heavy and light quarks, potentially aiding in the identification of these states as specific radial or orbital excitations (e.g., 1P, 2S, or 2P waves) within the quark model.
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