Evidence for the rare decay $Sigma^+ to p mu^+ mu^-$

A search for the rare decay $Sigma^+ to p mu^+ mu^-$ is performed using $pp$ collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies $sqrt{s} = 7$ and $8$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3 fb^{-1}$. An excess of events is observed with respect to the background expectation, with a signal significance of 4.1 standard deviations. No significant structure is observed in the dimuon invariant mass distribution, in contrast with a previous result from the HyperCP experiment. The measured $Sigma^+ to p mu^+ mu^-$ branching fraction is $(2.2,^{+,1.8}_{-,1.3})times 10^{-8}$, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are included, which is consistent with the Standard Model prediction.