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ηc leading-twist distribution amplitude and the Bc→ηcℓν¯ℓ semileptonic decays using QCD sum rules

Long Zeng*, Xing-Gang Wu†, Dan-Dan Hu‡, and Yu-Jie Zhang§

Hai-Bing Fu∥ and Tao Zhong

  • Department of Physics, Chongqing Key Laboratory for Strongly Coupled Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, People’s Republic of China

  • *Contact author: zlong@cqu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: wuxg@cqu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: hudd@stu.cqu.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: zhangyj@stu.cqu.edu.cn
  • ∥Contact author: fuhb@gzmu.edu.cn
  • Contact author: zhongtao1219@sina.com

Phys. Rev. D 111, 116014 – Published 16 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/csrw-9hwp

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the semileptonic decays Bc→ηcℓν¯ℓ using the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) sum rules within the framework of Standard Model (SM). We further explore the potential to probe signatures of new physics (NP) beyond the SM through these decays. First, we derive the ξ-moments ⟨ξ2;ηcn⟩ of the ηc-meson leading-twist distribution amplitude ϕ2;ηc using the QCD sum rules within the background field theory. Considering contributions from the vacuum condensates up to dimension-six, the first two nonzero ξ-moments at the scale of 4 GeV are found to be ⟨ξ2;ηc2⟩=0.103−0.009+0.009 and ⟨ξ2;ηc4⟩=0.031−0.003+0.003. Using these moments, we then fix the Gegenbauer expansion series of ϕ2;ηc and apply it to compute the Bc→ηc transition form factors (TFFs) using QCD light cone sum rules. Second, we extrapolate those TFFs to physically allowable q2-range via a simplified series expansion, and we obtain Rηc|SM=0.308−0.062+0.084. Furthermore, we explore the potential impacts of various NP scenarios on Rηc. Specifically, we compute the forward-backward asymmetry AFB(q2), the convexity parameter CFτ(q2), and the longitudinal and transverse polarizations PL(q2) and PT(q2) for Bc→ηc transitions within both the SM and two types of NP scenarios. Our results contribute to a deeper understanding of Bc-meson semileptonic decays and provide insights into the search for the NP beyond the SM.

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