Dalitz plot analysis of the D+ -> K- pi+ pi+ decay

Abstract

We present a Dalitz plot analysis of the decay D+ -> K- pi+ pi+ based on 281 pb-1 of e+e- collision data produced at the psi(3770) by CESR and observed with the CLEO-c detector. We select 67086 candidate events with a small, ~1.1%, background for this analysis. When using a simple isobar model our results are consistent with the previous measurements done by E791. Since our sample is considerably larger we can explore alternative models. We find better agreement with data when we include an isospin-two pi+pi+ S-wave contribution. We apply a quasi model-independent partial wave analysis and measure the amplitude and phase of the K pi and pi+pi+ S waves in the range of invariant masses from the threshold to the maximum in this decay.