{
  "abstract": "The three narrow pentaquarks $P_c(4312)$, $P_c(4440)$, and $P_c(4457)$ observed by LHCb are widely interpreted as hadronic molecules owing to their proximity to the $Σ_c\\bar{D}^{(*)}$ thresholds. However, heavy-quark spin symmetry predicts additional partner states that have not been seen experimentally, making the production mechanism in $Λ_b^0$ decays particularly important in understanding their nature. We propose a novel production mechanism, which can naturally explain why only these three LHCb $P_c$ states have been clearly observed. The $P_c(4440)$ and $P_c(4457)$ are produced via the $D_{s1}^*(2860)Λ_c(2595)\\bar{D}π$ box diagram leading to $K^-Σ_c\\bar{D}^{*}$, followed by rescattering into $K^- J/ψp$. The box diagram develops a box singularity in the vicinity of the $P_c(4457)$, as all four states in the box can go on shell. The $P_c$ states themselves are dynamically generated through the rescattering of the $S$-wave $Σ_c\\bar{D}^{(*)}$ to $J/ψp$. The $P_c(4312)$ proceeds analogously via the $D_{s0}(2590)Λ_c(2595)\\bar{D}^*π$ box diagram but without a box singularity. The near-invisibility of the $Σ_c^*\\bar{D}^{(*)}$ molecular states is attributed to the suppressed production of the $Λ_c(2625)$ in $Λ_b$ weak decays, as established by the lattice QCD calculations. This mechanism naturally reproduces the data with only two production parameters, whereas previous works required 7 parameters and a finely tuned background, and provides a natural explanation for why the $Σ_c^*\\bar{D}^{(*)}$ states are barely visible. It yields unique, falsifiable predictions, $Γ(Λ_b^0\\to P_c(4440/4457) K\\to J/ψp K)/Γ(Λ_b^0\\to\\bar D_{s1}^*(2860)Λ_c(2595))\\approx (0.2-0.4)\\%$, $Γ(Λ_b^0\\to P_c(4312) K\\to J/ψp K)/Γ(Λ_b^0\\to \\bar D_{s0}(2590)Λ_c(2595))\\approx (0.2-0.8)\\%$.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.24231",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Wen-Jia Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Meng-Lin Du"
    },
    {
      "name": "Feng-Kun Guo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bing Wu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1sqvheegnjmnj.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.24231",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1sqvheegnjmnj",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24231",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3106|Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214046047",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.24231",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1sqvheegnjmnj.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:23:19Z",
      "native_id": "2609.24231",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24231"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ph",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Deciphering the production mechanism of the LHCb $P_c$ states",
  "title_text": "Deciphering the production mechanism of the LHCb P_c states",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:23:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1sqvheegnjmnj",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}