Measurement of Branching Fraction and Transition Magnetic Moment of the Hyperon Dalitz Decay $\Sigma^0 \rightarrow \Lambda e^+e^-$

Abstract

Based on a data sample of 10 billion $J/\psi$ events collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII collider, the Dalitz decay $\Sigma^0 \rightarrow \Lambda e^+e^-$ is studied experimentally for the first time. The $\Sigma^0$ hyperons are produced through the process $J/\psi \rightarrow \Sigma^0\bar{\Sigma}^0$ and analyzed using a double-tag method. The absolute branching fraction is measured to be $\mathcal{B}(\Sigma^0 \rightarrow \Lambda e^+e^-) = (6.34 \pm 0.25_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.23_{\rm syst.}) \times 10^{-3}$. This result shows a $2\sigma$ discrepancy from the theoretical calculation quoted in the PDG, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. In addition to the branching fraction, the transition magnetic moment $\mu$ is determined to be $(1.74 \pm 0.03_{\rm stat.} \pm 0.09_{\rm syst.})\,\mu_N$, where $\mu_N=e/(2m_p)$ represents the nucleon magnetic moment, providing valuable insight into the intrinsic structure of the $\Sigma^0$ hyperon.