Measurements of the branching fractions of B⁺ → pp K ⁺ decays

The branching fractions of the decay B⁺ → pp K⁺ for different intermediate states are measured using data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb⁻¹, collected by the LHCb experiment. The total branching fraction, its charmless component (Mpp < 2.85 GeV/c²) and the branching fractions via the resonant cc states η_c(1S) and ψ(2S) relative to the decay via a J/ψ intermediate state are B(B⁺ → pp K⁺) total/B(B⁺ → J/ψK⁺ →pp K⁺) = 4.91 ± 0.19 (stat) ± 0.14 (syst), B(B⁺ → pp K⁺)M_pp < 2.85 GeV/c²/B(B⁺ → J/ψK⁺ → pp K⁺) = 2.02 ± 0.10 (stat) ± 0.08 (syst), B(B⁺ → η_c(1S)K⁺ → pp K⁺)/B(B⁺ → J/ψK⁺ → pp K⁺) = 0.578 ± 0.035 (stat) ± 0.027 (syst), B(B⁺ → ψ(2S)K⁺ → pp K⁺)/B(B⁺ → J/ψK⁺ → pp K⁺) = 0.080 ± 0.012 (stat) ± 0.009 (syst). Upper limits on the B⁺ branching fractions into the η_c(2S) meson and into the charmonium-like states X(3872) and X(3915) are also obtained.