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Raynette van Tonder

Publications and source records attributed to Raynette van Tonder.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Closing the knowledge gap in semileptonic $B\rightarrow X_c\ell\nu$ decays

In this work we summarize the current status of measured exclusive semileptonic branching fractions containing charm mesons. We use the available experimental data to evaluate the difference between the sum of exclusive measurements and the inclusive determination. By including experimental results of branching fractions relative to semi-inclusive $B\rightarrow D X\ell\nu$ decays, we demonstrate that the unmeasured components of the total branching fraction are dominated by final states devoid of $D$ mesons, hinting towards sizeable contributions from baryonic final states and $D_s$ mesons. Based on the obtained fractions, we discuss candidates that could potentially close the remaining difference and propose searches for promising final states. Furthermore, we provide simplified models for S-wave $B\rightarrow D\eta\ell\nu$ and $B\rightarrow D_s K\ell\nu$ decays that contribute marginally to the unmeasured components of the total inclusive rate.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

Semileptonic and Leptonic Decays at Belle II

This proceeding summarises recent studies on semileptonic and leptonic $B$ decays, which provide stringent tests of lepton flavour universality as well as key experimental inputs to ultimately increase the precision of inclusive $|V_{ub}|$ and $|V_{cb}|$ determinations. The presented analyses investigate electron-positron collision data recorded by the Belle and Belle II detectors at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance, comprising the complete Belle data set of 711 fb$^{-1}$ and 365 fb$^{-1}$ of Belle II data samples collected between 2019 - 2022.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2026

On the simulated kinematic distributions of heavy meson decays

Modern measurements in flavour physics rely on accurate simulations of signal and background processes, provided by a wide range of general-purpose and specialised Monte-Carlo event generators. Due to the inclusion of a larger amount of specialised decays of heavy hadrons, EvtGen is often the tool of choice for many scenarios. We investigate the phase-space sampling algorithm of EvtGen and demonstrate that it generates unphysical features in kinematic distributions of semileptonic $B$ decays involving resonances, originating from neglected phase-space factors. We provide a short-term solution to correct the affected simulated samples through reweighting of the hadronic invariant mass distribution.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2025

A model-independent parameterization of $B\rightarrow\pi\pi\ell\nu$ decays

We introduce a novel parameterization of $B\rightarrow\pi\pi\ell\nu$ form factors relying on partial-wave decompositions and series expansions in suitable variables. We bound the expansion coefficients through unitarity and include left-hand cut contributions using established dispersive methods. The two-hadron lineshapes are treated in a model-independent manner using Omn\`es functions, thus allowing for a data-driven determination of the expansion parameters. We study the underlying composition of the di-pion system in $B\rightarrow\pi\pi\ell\nu$ decays through fits to differential spectra of $B^{+} \rightarrow \pi^{+}\pi^{-} \ell^+ \nu$ measured by the Belle experiment. In contrast to previous works, we are able to study the full phase-space and are not limited to certain kinematic regions. As a consequence, we extract branching fractions for the different partial waves of the di-pion system. We find: \begin{align*} \mathcal{B}(B^+\rightarrow (\pi^+ \pi^-)_S \ell^+ \nu) &= 2.2^{+1.4}_{-1.0}\times 10^{-5}\,,\\ \mathcal{B}(B^+\rightarrow (\pi^+ \pi^-)_P \ell^+\nu) &= 19.6^{+2.8}_{-2.7}\times 10^{-5}\,,\\ \mathcal{B}(B^+\rightarrow (\pi^+ \pi^-)_D \ell^+ \nu) &= 3.5^{+1.3}_{-1.1}\times 10^{-5}\,.\\ \end{align*} In addition, we derive predictions for the thus far unobserved $B^+\rightarrow \pi^0\pi^0\ell^+\nu$ decay and obtain a sizeable branching fraction of $\mathcal{B}(B^+\rightarrow \pi^0\pi^0\ell^+\nu) = 2.9^{+0.9}_{-0.7}\times 10^{-5}$.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2024

Model-independent description of $B\rightarrow D \pi \ell \nu$ decays

In this contribution we present a novel, model-independent description of semileptonic $B\rightarrow D \pi \ell \nu$ decays. In addition, we discuss recent developments in the understanding of coupled-channel $D \pi$-$D \eta$-$D_s K$ S-wave scattering and, for the first time, apply them to semileptonic decays. We not only obtain model-independent predictions for kinematic distributions in $B\rightarrow D \pi \ell \nu$ decays, but also rule out the hypothesis that the gap between the inclusive $B\rightarrow X\ell\nu$ branching fraction and the sum over exclusive channels is made up predominantly by $B\rightarrow D^{(\ast)} \eta \ell \nu$ decays.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2023

A model independent description of $B\rightarrow D \pi \ell \nu$ decays

We introduce a new parameterization of $B\rightarrow D \pi \ell \nu$ form factors using a partial-wave expansion and derive bounds on the series coefficients using analyticity and unitarity. This is the first generalization of the model-independent formalism developed by Boyd, Grinstein, and Lebed for $B \to D \ell \nu$ to semileptonic decays with multi-hadron final states, and enables data-driven form factor determinations with robust, systematically-improvable uncertainties. Using this formalism, we extract the form-factor parameters for $B \to D_2^\ast(\to D\pi) \ell \nu$ decays in a model-independent way from fits of data from the Belle Experiment, and, for the first time, study the two-pole structure in the $D\pi$ S-wave in semileptonic decays employing lineshapes from unitarized chiral perturbation theory.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2022

First extraction of inclusive $V_{cb}$ from $q^2$ moments

We present the first determination of $V_{cb}$ from inclusive $B\to X_c \ell \barν_\ell$ using moments of the dilepton invariant mass, $q^2$. These moments are reparametrization invariant quantities and depend on a reduced set of non-perturbative parameters. This reduced opens a new path to extract these parameters up to $1/m_b^4$ purely from data and thereby reducing the uncertainty on $V_{cb}$. In this paper, we present our first determination of $V_{cb}$ using this method. Combining the recent measurements of $q^2$ moments by Belle and Belle II, our default fit gives $|V_{cb}| = (41.69\pm 0.63)\cdot 10^{-3}$. This results presents an important independent cross check of, and is consistent with, the previous state-of-the-art inclusive determinations using lepton energy and hadronic invariant mass moments.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2021

Inclusive determination of $|V_{cb}|$ at Belle

We present the measurement of the first to fourth order moments of the four-momentum transfer squared, $q^{2}$, of inclusive $B \rightarrow X_{c} \ell ν$ decays using the full Belle data set consisting of $711~\rm fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at the $Υ(4S)$ resonance for $\ell = e, μ$. The measured moments are crucial experimental inputs for a novel, data-driven approach to determine inclusive $|V_{cb}|$, which we implement in order to extract a preliminary value of $|V_{cb}| \times 10^{3} = 41.7 \pm 1.2$.

hep-ex↗