Measurement of the branching fraction ratio RK at large dilepton invariant mass
A test of lepton universality between muons and electrons is performed using B + → K + ℓ + ℓ − decays (where ℓ = e, μ), in the dilepton invariant-mass-squared region above 14.3 GeV2 /c 4. The data used for the measurement consists of beauty meson decays produced in proton-proton collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb −1, collected by the LHCb experiment between 2011 and 2018. The ratio of branching fractions for B + → K + μ + μ − and B + → K + e + e − decays is measured to be $ {R}K=1.0{8}{-0.09}^{+0.11}{\left(\textrm{stat}\right)}_{-0.04}^{+0.04}\left(\textrm{syst}\right) $, which is consistent with the Standard Model prediction of unity. This constitutes the most precise test of lepton flavour universality using B + → K + ℓ + ℓ − decays with dilepton invariant-mass-squared above the ψ(2S) mass, whilst being the first of its kind at a hadron collider.
National Institute for Subatomic Physics
University of Warwick
University of Zurich
University of Warwick
University of Liverpool
Syracuse University
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
University of Bristol
Uppsala University
Université Paris-Saclay
2025-07-17
2025
7
198
REVIEWED
EPFL