Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fractions for $D^-_s\!\rightarrow\!\ell^-\bar{\nu}_{\ell}$ and Extraction of the Decay Constant $f_{D_s}$

Abstract

The absolute branching fractions for the decays $D^-_s\!\rightarrow\!\ell^-\bar{\nu}_{\ell}$ ($\ell=e$, $\mu$, or $\tau$) are measured using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 521 fb$^{-1}$ collected at center of mass energies near 10.58 GeV with the \mbox{\slshape B\kern-0.1em{\smaller A}\kern-0.1em B\kern-0.1em{\smaller A\kern-0.2em R}} detector at the PEP-II $e^+e^-$ collider at SLAC. The number of $D^-_s$ mesons is determined by reconstructing the recoiling system $DKX\gamma$ in events of the type $e^+e^-{\rightarrow}DKXD^{*-}_s$, where $D^{*-}_s\rightarrow D^-_s\gamma$ and $X$ represents additional pions from fragmentation. The $D^-_s\!\rightarrow\!\ell^-\bar{\nu}_{\ell}$ events are detected by full or partial reconstruction of the recoiling system $DKX\gamma\ell$. The branching fraction measurements are combined to determine the $D^-_s$ decay constant $f_{D_s} = (258.6 \pm 6.4 \pm 7.5)$ MeV, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.