We search for single-photon events in 53 fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} collision data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-Factory. We look for events with a single high-energy photon and a ...large missing momentum and energy, consistent with production of a spin-1 particle A^{'} through the process e^{+}e^{-}→γA^{'}; A^{'}→invisible. Such particles, referred to as "dark photons," are motivated by theories applying a U(1) gauge symmetry to dark matter. We find no evidence for such processes and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the coupling strength of A^{'} to e^{+}e^{-} in the mass range m_{A^{'}}≤8 GeV. In particular, our limits exclude the values of the A^{'} coupling suggested by the dark-photon interpretation of the muon (g-2)_{μ} anomaly, as well as a broad range of parameters for the dark-sector models.
Dark sectors charged under a new Abelian interaction have recently received much attention in the context of dark matter models. These models introduce a light new mediator, the so-called dark photon ...(A^{'}), connecting the dark sector to the standard model. We present a search for a dark photon in the reaction e^{+}e^{-}→γA^{'}, A^{'}→e^{+}e^{-}, μ^{+}μ^{-} using 514 fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector. We observe no statistically significant deviations from the standard model predictions, and we set 90% confidence level upper limits on the mixing strength between the photon and dark photon at the level of 10^{-4}-10^{-3} for dark photon masses in the range 0.02-10.2 GeV. We further constrain the range of the parameter space favored by interpretations of the discrepancy between the calculated and measured anomalous magnetic moment of the muon.
We search for the rare flavor-changing neutral current process B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-} using data from the BABAR experiment. The data sample, collected at the center-of-mass energy of the ϒ(4S) ...resonance, corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 424 fb^{-1} and to 471×10^{6} BBover ¯ pairs. We reconstruct one B meson, produced in the ϒ(4S)→B^{+}B^{-} decay, in one of many hadronic decay modes and search for activity compatible with a B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-} decay in the rest of the event. Each τ lepton is required to decay leptonically into an electron or muon and neutrinos. Comparing the expected number of background events with the data sample after applying the selection criteria, we do not find evidence for a signal. The resulting upper limit, at the 90% confidence level, is B(B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-})<2.25×10^{-3}.
Many models of physics beyond the standard model predict the existence of new Abelian forces with new gauge bosons mediating interactions between "dark sectors" and the standard model. We report a ...search for a dark boson Z' coupling only to the second and third generations of leptons in the reaction e super(+) e super(?)arrowrightmu super(+)mu super(?)Z',Z'arrowrightmu super(+) mu? using 514fb super(?1) of data collected by the BABAR experiment. No significant signal is observed for Z' masses in the range 0.212-10 GeV. Limits on the coupling parameter g' as low as 7x10 super(?4) are derived, leading to improvements in the bounds compared to those previously derived from neutrino experiments.
Axionlike particles (ALPs) are predicted in many extensions of the standard model, and their masses can naturally be well below the electroweak scale. In the presence of couplings to electroweak ...bosons, these particles could be emitted in flavor-changing B meson decays. We report herein a search for an ALP, a, in the reaction B^{±}→K^{±}a, a→γγ using data collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. No significant signal is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the ALP coupling to electroweak bosons are derived as a function of ALP mass, improving current constraints by several orders of magnitude in the range 0.175 GeV<m_{a}<4.78 GeV.
We present measurements of Collins asymmetries in the inclusive process e + e − → π π X , where π stands for charged pions, at a center-of-mass energy of 10.6 GeV. We use a data sample of 468 fb ...− 1 collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II B factory at SLAC, and consider pairs of charged pions produced in opposite hemispheres of hadronic events. We observe clear asymmetries in the distributions of the azimuthal angles in two distinct reference frames. We study the dependence of the asymmetry on several kinematic variables, finding that it increases with increasing pion momentum and momentum transverse to the analysis axis, and with increasing angle between the thrust and beam axis.
We study the process e + e − → e + e − η ′ in the double-tag mode and measure for the first time the γ * γ * → η ′ transition form factor F η′ ( Q 2 1 , Q 2 2 ) in the momentum-transfer range 2 < Q 2 ...1 , Q 2 2 < 60 GeV 2 . The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of around 469 fb − 1 collected at the PEP-II e + e − collider with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies near 10.6 GeV.
We report on a precision measurement of the ratio R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=B(ϒ(3S)→τ^{+}τ^{-})/B(ϒ(3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-}) using data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider. The ...measurement is based on a 28 fb^{-1} data sample collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.355 GeV corresponding to a sample of 122 million ϒ(3S) mesons. The ratio is measured to be R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=0.966±0.008_{stat}±0.014_{syst} and is in agreement with the standard model prediction of 0.9948 within 2 standard deviations. The uncertainty in R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)} is almost an order of magnitude smaller than the only previous measurement.
We present a search for a neutral, long-lived particle L that is produced in e+ e- collisions and decays at a significant distance from the e+ e- interaction point into various flavor combinations of ...two oppositely charged tracks. The analysis uses an e+ e- data sample with a luminosity of 489.1 fb(-1) collected by the BABAR detector at the ϒ(4S), ϒ(3S), and ϒ(2S) resonances and just below the ϒ(4S). Fitting the two-track mass distribution in search of a signal peak, we do not observe a significant signal, and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of the L production cross section, branching fraction, and reconstruction efficiency for six possible two-body L decay modes as a function of the L mass. The efficiency is given for each final state as a function of the mass, lifetime, and transverse momentum of the candidate, allowing application of the upper limits to any production model. In addition, upper limits are provided on the branching fraction B(B→XsL), where Xs is a strange hadronic system.
We study the process e+e−→π+π−ηγ, where the photon is radiated from the initial state. About 8000 fully reconstructed events of this process are selected from the BABAR data sample with an integrated ...luminosity of 469 fb−1. Using the π+π−η invariant mass spectrum, we measure the e+e−→π+π−η cross section in the e+e− center-of-mass energy range from 1.15 to 3.5 GeV. The cross section is well described by the Vector-Meson dominance model with four ρ-like states. We observe 49±9 events of the J/ψ decay to π+π−η and measure the product ΓJ/Ψ→e+e−BJ/Ψ→π+π−η=2.34±0.43stat±0.16syst eV.