Observation of $D^0\to ρ^0γ$ and search for $CP$ violation in radiative charm decays

We report the first observation of the radiative charm decay $D^0 \to ρ^0 γ$ and the first search for $CP$ violation in decays $D^0 \to ρ^0 γ$, $φγ$, and $\overline{K}{}^{*0} γ$, using a data sample of 943 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. The branching fraction is measured to be $\mathcal{B}(D^0 \to ρ^0 γ)=(1.77 \pm 0.30 \pm 0.07) \times 10^{-5}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The obtained $CP$ asymmetries, $\mathcal{A}_{CP}(D^0 \to ρ^0 γ)=+0.056 \pm 0.152 \pm 0.006$, $\mathcal{A}_{CP}(D^0 \to φγ)=-0.094 \pm 0.066 \pm 0.001$, and $\mathcal{A}_{CP}(D^0 \to \overline{K}{}^{*0} γ)=-0.003 \pm 0.020 \pm 0.000$, are consistent with no $CP$ violation. We also present an improved measurement of the branching fractions $\mathcal{B}(D^0 \to φγ)=(2.76 \pm 0.19 \pm 0.10) \times 10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}(D^0 \to \overline{K}{}^{*0} γ)=(4.66 \pm 0.21 \pm 0.21) \times 10^{-4}$.