First observation of Λ c + → Λ K + π 0 and evidence of Λ c + → Λ K + π + π −
We present the first observation of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay Λ c + → Λ K + π 0 with a significance of 5.7 σ and the first evidence of Λ c + → Λ K + π + π − decay with a significance of 3.1 σ , based on e + e − annihilation data recorded by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 6.4 fb − 1 , in the center-of-mass energy range from 4.600 to 4.950 GeV. We determine the branching fractions of Λ c + → Λ K + π 0 and Λ c + → Λ K + π + π − relative to their Cabibbo-favored counterparts to be B ( Λ c + → Λ K + π 0 ) B ( Λ c + → Λ π + π 0 ) = ( 2.09 ± 0.3 9 stat ± 0.0 7 syst ) × 10 − 2 and B ( Λ c + → Λ K + π + π − ) B ( Λ c + → Λ π + π + π − ) = ( 1.13 ± 0.4 1 stat ± 0.0 6 syst ) × 10 − 2 , respectively. Moreover, by combining our measured result with the world average of B ( Λ c + → Λ π + π 0 ) , we obtain the branching fraction B ( Λ c + → Λ K + π 0 ) = ( 1.49 ± 0.2 7 stat ± 0.0 5 syst ± 0.0 8 ref ) × 10 − 3 . This result significantly departs from theoretical predictions based on quark S U ( 3 ) flavor symmetry, which is underpinned by the presumption of meson pair S -wave amplitude dominance. Published by the American Physical Society 2024