Measurement of the ratio B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/- pi+/- pi-/+)/B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/-) and the production cross sections times branching fractions of Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/- and B+/- to J/psi K+/- in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The CMS collaboration Khachatryan, Vardan ; Sirunyan, Albert M ; Tumasyan, Armen ; et al.
JHEP 01 (2015) 063, 2015.
Inspire Record 1323075 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.39386

The ratio of the production cross sections times branching fractions (sigma(Bc+) B(Bc+ to J/psi pi+))/ (sigma(B+) B(B+ to J/psi K+)) is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The kinematic region investigated requires Bc+/- and B+/- mesons with transverse momentum pt > 15 GeV and rapidity abs(y) < 1.6. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 inverse femtobarns. The ratio is determined to be [0.48 +/- 0.05 (stat) +/- 0.03 (syst) +/- 0.05 (tau_{Bc})]% The J/psi pi+/- pi+/- pi-/+ decay mode is also observed in the same data sample. Using a model-independent method developed to measure the efficiency given the presence of resonant behaviour in the three-pion system, the ratio of the branching fractions B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/- pi+/- pi-/+) / B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/-) is measured to be 2.55 +/- 0.80 (stat) +/- 0.33 (syst) +0.04/-0.01 (tau[Bc+]), consistent with the previous LHCb result.

2 data tables

The ratio of the production cross sections times branching fractions of $B_c^\pm\to J/\psi\pi^\pm$ and $B^\pm\to J/\psi K^\pm$ is measured in the kinematic region $p_T$> 15 GeV and |y| < 1.6. Beside the statistical and systematic errors, an uncertainty associated to the $B_c^{\pm}$ lifetime is quoted as a separate third error. The $B_c^\pm\to J/\psi\pi^\pm$ reconstruction efficiency has a dependence on the $B_c^\pm$ lifetime. Recently LHCb published a more precise $B_c^\pm$ lifetime measurement, which is significantly higher than the previous world average (PDG 2012). To determine the systematic uncertainty associated with the uncertainty in the $B_c^\pm$ lifetime, the efficiency is evaluated while changing the $B_c^\pm$ lifetime in the simulation to cover the range from the world average minus its one standard deviation uncertainty, to the new LHCb measurement. The resulting variation in the ratio is quoted separately as a lifetime systematic uncertainty ($\tau_{Bc}$). Charge conjugation is implied in the table.

To determine the systematic uncertainty in the ratio of branching fractions associated with the uncertainty in the $B_c^\pm$ lifetime, the efficiency is evaluated while changing the $B_c^\pm$ lifetime in the simulation to cover the range from the world average minus its one standard deviation uncertainty, to the new LHCb measurement. The resulting variation in the ratio is quoted separately as a lifetime systematic uncertainty ($\tau_{Bc}$). Charge conjugation is implied in the table.