Search for lepton flavor violating decays tau+/--->l+/-omega

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• High Energy Physics
• Lepton Flavor Violation

Background:

• Lepton flavor is conserved in the Standard Model.
• Searching for lepton flavor violating (LFV) decays provides a window into new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Purpose of the Study:

• To search for LFV decays of the tau lepton into a lighter charged lepton (electron or muon) and an omega vector meson.
• To set limits on the branching ratios of these rare decay modes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 384.1 fb(-1) of e(+)e(-) collision data collected by the BABAR detector.
• Utilized data from the PEP-II storage ring at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
• Searched for the specific final state signature of tau -> l +/- omega, where l is an electron or muon.

Main Results:

• No significant signal was observed for either tau -> e +/- omega or tau -> mu +/- omega decays.
• Established upper limits at the 90% confidence level for the branching ratios.
• The upper limits are B(tau(+/-)-->e;{+/-}omega)<1.1 x10(-7) and B(tau(+/-)-->micro(+/-)omega)<1.0 x10(-7).

Conclusions:

• The results place stringent constraints on theories predicting LFV tau decays.
• The absence of signal is consistent with the Standard Model but limits extensions with new particles or interactions.
• This search contributes to the ongoing effort to understand the fundamental nature of lepton interactions.