Measurement of the Λ_b⁰ Lifetime Using Semileptonic Decays

Authors

V. M. Abazov, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia
Kenneth A. Bloom, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Gregory R. Snow, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
D0 Collaboration

Date of this Version

11-2-2007

Comments

Published by American Physical Society. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 182001 (2007). http://prl.aps.org. Copyright © 2007 American Physical Society. Permission to use.

Abstract

We report a measurement of the Λ_b⁰ lifetime using a sample corresponding to 1.3 fb^-1 of data collected by the D0 experiment in 2002–2006 during run II of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The Λ_b⁰ baryon is reconstructed via the decay Λ_b⁰ → μν̅Λ_c⁺ X. Using 4437 ± 329 signal candidates, we measure the Λ_b⁰ lifetime to be τ(Λ_b⁰) = 1.290_-0.110^+0.119 (stat) _-0.091^+0.087 (syst) ps, which is among the most precise measurements in semileptonic Λ_b⁰ decays. This result is in good agreement with the world average value.