The $a_0(980)$ in the single Cabibbo-suppressed process $\Lambda_c \to \pi^0\eta p$

Abstract

In this work, we have investigated the Cabibbo-suppressed process $\Lambda_c \to \pi^0\eta p$, by taking into account the intermediate scalar state $a_0(980)$, which could be dynamically generated from the $S$-wave pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar interaction within the chiral unitary approach. We have calculated the $\pi^0\eta$ invariant mass distribution, and found that there is a significant structure associated to the $a_0(980)$. We have also roughly estimated the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c \to \pi^0\eta p) \sim 10^{-4}$. We encourage our experimental colleagues to measure the process $\Lambda_c \to \pi^0\eta p$ for searching for the state $a_0(980)$ in this reaction.