Observation of the decay J / ψ → e + e − η ( 1405 ) with η ( 1405 ) → π 0 f 0 ( 980 )
Using a data sample of ( 10087 ± 44 ) × 10 6 J / ψ events collected by the BESIII detector in 2009, 2012, 2018 and 2019, the electromagnetic Dalitz process J / ψ → e + e − η ( 1405 ) is observed via the decay η ( 1405 ) → π 0 f 0 ( 980 ) , f 0 ( 980 ) → π + π − , with a significance of about 9.8 σ . The branching fraction of this decay is measured to be B ( J / ψ → e + e − η ( 1405 ) → e + e − π 0 f 0 ( 980 ) → e + e − π 0 π + π − ) = ( 2.04 ± 0.20 ( stat ) ± 0.08 ( syst ) ) × 10 − 7 . The branching fraction ratio B ( J / ψ → e + e − η ( 1405 ) ) / B ( J / ψ → γ η ( 1405 ) ) is determined to be ( 1.36 ± 0.17 ( stat ) ± 0.06 ( syst ) ) × 10 − 2 . Furthermore, an e + e − invariant mass dependent transition form factor of J / ψ → e + e − η ( 1405 ) is presented for the first time. The obtained result provides input for different theoretical models and is valuable for the improved understanding the intrinsic structure of the η ( 1405 ) meson. Published by the American Physical Society 2024