Based on $22.7{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ annihilation data collected at 33 different center-of-mass energies between 3.7730 and 4.7008 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, Born cross sections of the two processes $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to \varphi K^{+}{K}^{-}$ and $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to \varphi K_S^0{K}_S^0$ are measured for the first time. No indication of resonant production through an intermediate vector state $V$ is observed, and the upper limits on the product of the electronic width ${\mathrm{\Gamma }}_{e^{+}{e}^{-}}$ and the branching fraction $\mathrm{Br}(V\to \varphi K\overline{K})$ of the processes $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to V\to \varphi K^{+}{K}^{-}$ and $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to V\to \varphi K_S^0{K}_S^0$ at the 90% confidence level are obtained for a large parameter space in resonance masses and widths. For the current world average mass and width of the $\psi (4230)$ of $m=4.2187\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ and $\mathrm{\Gamma }=44\mathrm{MeV}$, we set upper limits on the $\varphi K^{+}{K}^{-}$ and $\varphi K_S^0{K}_S^0$ final states of 1.75 and 0.47 eV at the 90% confidence level, respectively.

• Received 18 April 2023
• Accepted 17 July 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.108.032004

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Published by the American Physical Society