Observation of B0 -> chi_c0K*0 and evidence for B+ -> chi_c0K*+

Abstract

We present the observation of the decay B0 -> chi_c0K*0 as well as evidence of B+ -> chi_c0K*+, with an 8.9 and a 3.6 standard deviation significance, respectively, using a data sample of 454 million Y(4S) -> BB decays collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II B meson factory located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The measured branching fractions are: B(B0 -> chi_c0K*0) = (1.7 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.2) * 10^{-4} and B(B+ -> chi_c0K^*+) = (1.4 +/- 0.5 +/- 0.2) * 10^{-4}, where the first quoted errors are statistical and the second are systematic. We obtain a branching fraction upper limit of B(B+ -> chi_c0K*+) < 2.1 * 10^{-4} at the 90% confidence level.