Date of Award

Winter 12-22-2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Physics

Advisor(s)

Blusk, Steven

Keywords

baryon, collision, decay, hadron, suppressed, weak

Subject Categories

Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics

Abstract

The first measurement of the branching fraction of the Ξc0 baryon in its decay to π− and Λ+c hadrons, B(Ξc0 → π−Λ+c ), is presented. This measurement was conducted with the LHCb detector, located on the Large Hadron Collider, using 13 TeV proton-proton collisions. There have been a number of theoretical predictions for the size of this branching fraction, spanning more than an order of magnitude; this large difference is primarily due to differing assumptions about the internal interactions contributing to the decay. The branching fraction measured here provides the first experimental evidence for the nature of these interactions; it is consistent with the larger predictions and inconsistent with the smaller ones, indicating a constructive interference effect. In addition, the second measurement of the branching fraction of the Ξc+ baryon in its decay to p, K−, and π+ hadrons, B(Ξc+ → pK−π+), is presented and found to be consistent with the Belle collaboration's previous measurement while carrying a lower relative uncertainty.

Access

Open Access

Download

Included in

Physics Commons

Share

COinS