Observation of the hc(1P) Using e+e- Collisions above the DD¯ Threshold

Using 586pb^-1 of e⁺e^- collision data at E_c.m.=4170MeV, produced at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring collider and collected with the CLEO-c detector, we observe the process e⁺e^-→π⁺π^-h_c(1P). We measure its cross section to be 15.6±2.3±1.9±3.0pb, where the third error is due to the external uncertainty on the branching fraction of ψ(2S)→π⁰h_c(1P), which we use for normalization. We also find evidence for e⁺e^-→ηh_c(1P) at 4170 MeV at the 3σ level and see hints of a rise in the e⁺e^-→π⁺π^-h_c(1P) cross section at 4260 MeV.