Infoscience

Journal article

Study of B- -> DK-pi(+)pi(-) and B- -> D pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) decays and determination of the CKM angle gamma

We report a study of the suppressed B- -> DK-pi(+)pi(-) and favored B- -> D pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) decays, where the neutral D meson is detected through its decays to the K--/+pi(+/-) and CP -even K+K- and pi(+)pi(-) final states. The measurement is carried out using a proton-proton collision data sample collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1). We observe the first significant signals in the CP - even final states of the D meson for both the suppressed B- -> DK-pi(+)pi(-) and favored B- -> D pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) modes, as well as in the doubly Cabibbo suppressed D -> K+pi(-) final state of the B- -> D pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) decay. Evidence for the suppressed decay B- -> DK-pi(+)pi(-), with D -> K+pi(-), is also presented. From the observed yields in the B- -> DK-pi(+)pi(-), B- -> D pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) and their charge conjugate decay modes, the most probable value of the weak phase gamma corresponds to gamma = (74(-19)(+20))degrees. This is one of the most precise single-measurement determinations of gamma to date.