Search for Dimuon Decays of a Light Scalar Boson in Radiative Transitions Υ→γA0

We search for evidence of a light scalar boson in the radiative decays of the Υ(2S) and Υ(3S) resonances: Υ(2S,3S)→γA0, A0→μ+μ-. Such a particle appears in extensions of the standard model, where a light CP-odd Higgs boson naturally couples strongly to b quarks. We find no evidence for such processes in the mass range 0.212≤mA0≤9.3GeV in the samples of 99×106 Υ(2S) and 122×106 Υ(3S) decays collected by the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II B factory and set stringent upper limits on the effective coupling of the b quark to the A0. We also limit the dimuon branching fraction of the ηb meson: B(ηb→μ+μ-) <0.9% at 90% confidence level. © 2009 The American Physical Society.