First Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fraction of $Λ\to p μ^- \barν_μ$

Abstract

The absolute branching fraction of $Λ\to p μ^- \barν_μ$ is reported for the first time based on an $e^+e^-$ annihilation sample of ten billion $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector at $\sqrt{s}=3.097$ GeV. The branching fraction is determined to be ${\mathcal B}(Λ\to pμ^- \barν_μ) = [1.48\pm0.21(\rm stat) \pm 0.08(\rm syst)]\times 10^{-4}$, which is a significant improvement in precision over the previous indirect measurements. Combining this result with the world average of ${\mathcal B}(Λ\to p e^- \barν_{e})$, we obtain the ratio, $\frac{Γ(Λ\to p μ^- \barν_μ)}{Γ(Λ\to p e^- \barν_{e})}$, to be $0.178 \pm 0.028$, which agrees with the standard model prediction assuming lepton flavor universality. The asymmetry of the branching fractions of $Λ\to p μ^- \barν_μ$ and $\barΛ \to \bar{p} μ^+ ν_μ$ is also determined, and no evidence for $CP$ violation is found.

8 pages, 2figures