Measurement of the D*(2010)+ meson width and the D*(2010)+ - D0 mass difference

Measurement of the D^{*}(2010)^{+}-D^{+} Mass Difference

We measure the mass difference, Δm_{+}, between the D^{*}(2010)^{+} and the D^{+} using the decay chain D^{*}(2010)^{+}→D^{+}π^{0} with D^{+}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{+}. The data were recorded with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies at and near the ϒ(4S) resonance, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 468  fb^{-1}. We measure Δm_{+}=(140 601.0±6.8[stat]±12.9[syst])  keV. We combine this result with a previous BABAR measurement of Δm_{0}≡m(D^{*}(2010)^{+})-m(D^{0}) to obtain Δm_{D}=m(D^{+})-m(D^{0})=(4824.9±6.8[stat]±12.9[syst])  keV. These results are compatible with and approximately five times more precise than the Particle Data Group averages.

Weak Decays of Excited B Mesons

We investigate the decays of the excited (bq[over ¯]) mesons as probes of the short-distance structure of the weak ΔB=1 transitions. These states are unstable under the electromagnetic or strong interactions, although their widths are typically suppressed by phase space. Compared to the pseudoscalar B meson, the purely leptonic decays of the vector B^{*} are not chirally suppressed and are sensitive to different combinations of the underlying weak effective operators. An interesting example is B_{s}^{*}→ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-}, which has a rate that can be accurately predicted in the standard model. The branching fraction is B∼10^{-11}, irrespective of the lepton flavor and where the main uncertainty stems from the unmeasured and theoretically not well known B_{s}^{*} width. We discuss the prospects for producing this decay mode at the LHC and explore the possibility of measuring the B_{s}^{*}→ℓℓ amplitude, instead, through scattering experiments at the B_{s}^{*} resonance peak.

Observation of two new Ξ(b)(-) baryon resonances

Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the Ξ(b)(0)π(-) mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb(-1), recorded by the LHCb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content bds are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity J(P)=(1/2)(+) and J(P)=(3/2)(+) states, denoted Ξ(b)('-) and Ξ(b)(*-). Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be m(Ξ(b)('-))-m(Ξ(b)(0))-m(π(-))=3.653±0.018±0.006  MeV/c(2), m(Ξ(b)(*-))-m(Ξ(b)(0))-m(π(-))=23.96±0.12±0.06  MeV/c(2), Γ(Ξ(b)(*-))=1.65±0.31±0.10  MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of Γ(Ξ(b)('-))<0.08  MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.