Search for the e⁺e⁻ → φχc1(3872) process at BESIII

Based on 368.5 pb⁻¹ of e⁺e⁻ collision data collected at center-of-mass energies 4.914 and 4.946 GeV by the BESIII detector, the e⁺e⁻ → φχc1(3872) process is searched for the first time. No significant signal is observed and the upper limits at the 90% confidence level on the product of the Born cross section σ(e⁺e⁻ → φχc1(3872)) and the branching fraction B[χc1(3872)→π⁺π⁻ J/ψ] at 4.914 and 4.946 GeV are set to be 0.85 and 0.96 pb, respectively. These measurements provide useful information for the production of the χc1(3872) at e⁺e⁻ collider and deepen our understanding about the nature of this particle.