Study of B-c(+) decays to charmonia and three light hadrons

Using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb ⁻¹ collected with the LHCb detector, seven decay modes of the Bc+ meson into a J/ψ or ψ(2S) meson and three charged hadrons, kaons or pions, are studied. The decays Bc+ → (ψ(2S) → J/ψπ ⁺π ⁻)π ⁺, Bc+ → ψ(2S)π ⁺π ⁻π ⁺, Bc+ → J/ψK ⁺π ⁻π ⁺ and Bc+ → J/ψK ⁺K ⁻K ⁺ are observed for the first time, and evidence for the Bc+ → ψ(2S)K ⁺K ⁻π ⁺, decay is found, where J/ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are reconstructed in their dimuon decay modes. The ratios of branching fractions between the different Bc+ decays are reported as well as the fractions of the decays proceeding via intermediate resonances. The results largely support the factorisation approach used for a theoretical description of the studied decays. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]