Strong constraints on the $b\to s\gamma$ photon polarisation from $B^0\to K^{\ast 0}{e}^{+}{e}^{-}$ decays

An angular analysis of the $B^0\to K^{\ast 0}{e}^{+}{e}^{-}$ decay is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9{\mathrm{f}\mathrm{b}}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions collected with the LHCb experiment. The analysis is conducted in the very low dielectron mass squared ($q^2$) interval between $0.0008$ and $0.257{\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}}^2$, where the rate is dominated by the $B^0\to K^{\ast 0}\gamma$ transition with a virtual photon. The fraction of longitudinal polarisation of the $K^{\ast 0}$ meson, $F_{\mathrm{L}}$, is measured to be $F_{\rm L} = (4.4 \pm 2.6 \pm 1.4)%$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The $A_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{R}\mathrm{e}}$ observable, which is related to the lepton forward-backward asymmetry, is measured to be $A_{\rm T}^{\rm Re}=-0.06 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.02$\mathrm{.}The$A_{\rm T}^{(2)}$and$A_{\rm T}^{\rm Im}$ transverse asymmetries, which are sensitive to the virtual photon polarisation, are found to be $A_{\mathrm{T}}^{(2)}=0.11\pm 0.10\pm 0.02$ and $A_{\rm T}^{\rm Im} = 0.02 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.01$. The results are consistent with Standard Model predictions and provide the world’s best constraint on the $b\to s\gamma$ photon polarisation.