Abstract: The standard model of particle physics currently provides our best description of fundamental particles and their interactions. The theory predicts that the different charged leptons, the electron, muon and tau, have identical electroweak interaction strengths. Previous measurements have shown that a wide range of particle decays are consistent with this principle of lepton universality. This article presents evidence for the breaking of lepton universality in beauty-quark decays, with a significance of 3.1 standard deviations, based on proton–proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are of processes in which a beauty meson transforms into a strange meson with the emission of either an electron and a positron, or a muon and an antimuon. If confirmed by future measurements, this violation of lepton universality would imply physics beyond the standard model, such as a new fundamental interaction between quarks and leptons.

Abstract: Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the (DD0)-D-0 pi(+) mass spectrum just below the D*+D-0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T-cc(+), tetraquark with a quark content of cc (u) over bar(d) over bar and spin-parity quantum numbers J(P) =1(+). Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D*(+) mesons is consistent with the observed D-0 pi(+) mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the DID system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T-cc(+), state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T-cc(+), state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed.

Abstract: An amplitude analysis of flavor-untagged B-s(0) -> J=psi p (p) over bar decays is performed using a sample of 797 +/- 31 decays reconstructed with the LHCb detector. The data, collected in proton-proton collisions between 2011 and 2018, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb(-1). Evidence for a new structure in the J=psi p and J=psi(p) over bar systems with a mass of 4337(-4-2)(+7+2) MeV and a width of 29(-12-14)(+26+14) MeV is found, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, with a significance in the range of 3.1 to 3.7 sigma, depending on the assigned J(P) hypothesis.

Abstract: Amplitude models are constructed to describe the resonance structure of D-0 -> K-pi(+) pi(+) pi(-) and D-0 -> K+ pi(-)pi(-)pi(+) decays using pp collision data collected at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV with the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 f b(-1). The largest contributions to both decay amplitudes are found to come from axial resonances, with decay modes D-0 -> a(1)(1260)(+) K- and D-0 -> K-1(1270/1400)(+)pi(-) being prominent in D-0 -> K-pi(+) pi(+) pi(-) and D-0 -> K+pi(-)pi(-)pi(+), respectively. Precise measurements of the lineshape parameters and couplings of the a(1)(1260)(+), K-1(1270)(-) and K(1460)(-) resonances are made, and a quasi model-independent study of the K(1460)(-) resonance is performed. The coherence factor of the decays is calculated from the amplitude models to be R-K3 pi = 0.459 +/- 0.010 (stat) +/- 0.012 (syst) +/- 0.020 (model), which is consistent with direct measurements. These models will be useful in future measurements of the unitary-triangle angle gamma and studies of charm mixing and CP violation.

Abstract: Long-lived particles decaying to e(+/-) mu(-/+)nu, with masses between 7 and 50 GeV/c(2) and lifetimes between 2 and 50 ps, are searched for by looking at displaced vertices containing electrons and muons of opposite charges. The search is performed using 5.4 fb(-1) of pp collisions collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV. Three mechanisms of production of long-lived particles are considered: the direct pair production from quark interactions, the pair production from the decay of a Standard-Model-like Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV/c(2), and the charged current production from an on-shell W boson with an additional lepton. No evidence of these long-lived states is obtained and upper limits on the production cross-section times branching fraction are set on the different production modes.