First Experimental Study of Photon Polarization in Radiative B0s Decays

Abstract

The polarization of photons produced in radiative B-s(0) decays is studied for the first time. The data are recorded by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1) at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. A time-dependent analysis of the B-s(0) ->phi gamma decay rate is conducted to determine the parameter A(Delta), which is related to the ratio of right-over left-handed photon polarization amplitudes in b -> s gamma transitions. A value of A(Delta) = -0.98(-0.52)(-0.20)(+0.46)(+0.23) is measured. This result is consistent with the standard model prediction within 2 standard deviations.