Abstract
Purely leptonic decays of the charm and mesons are investigated quantitatively as a source of asymmetry between prompt () and () neutrino rates from hadronic beam dumps. We define and compute the values of two different ratios of the numbers of events produced in a neutrino detector exposed to prompt and , applying selections identical to those used in analyses of data. The decay mode is shown to depress the ratio to values perhaps as low as 0.9; is determined from data in which electrons and muons are identified on an event-by-event basis. A ratio may be determined if electrons are not identified. Owing to , is increased above , and values of may exceed unity. Interpreted in this context, values of substantially below unity, as observed in some experiments, would require very large values for the weak-decay constant and for the inclusive -production cross section.
- Received 30 August 1982
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.27.1080
©1983 American Physical Society