arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Mannel.
We set up a zero recoil sum rule to constrain the form factors of the $Λ_b \to Λ_c$ transition. Our results are compared with the recent lattice calculation for these transitions. We find the same situation as in the case for $B \to D^*$: The lattice results practically saturate the sum rules, leaving basically no room for excited states.
Within the heavy quark expansion techniques for the heavy hadron weak decays we analytically compute the coefficient of the power suppressed dimension five chromo-magnetic operator at next-to-leading order of QCD perturbation theory with the full dependence on the final state quark mass. We present explicit expressions for the total width of inclusive semileptonic decays including the power suppressed terms and for a few moments of decay differential distributions. One of the important phenomenological applications of our results is precision analysis of the decays of bottom mesons to charmed final states and extraction of the numerical value for the CKM matrix entry |V_{cb}|.
In a bottom-up approach we investigate lepton-flavour violating processes $τ\to 3 \ell$ that are mediated by New Physics encoded in effective-theory operators of dimension six. While the opportunity to scrutinize the underlying operator structure has been investigated before, we explore the benefits of utilising the polarization direction of the initial $τ$ lepton and the angular distribution of the decay. Given the rarity of these events (if observed at all), we focus on integrated observables rather than spectra, such as partial rates and asymmetries. In an effort to estimate the number of events required to extract the coupling coefficients to the effective operators we perform a phenomenological study with virtual experiments.
We address the problem of extrapolating the vector form factor $f_{Bπ}^+$, which is relevant to $B\to π\ell ν_\ell$ decays, from the region of small to the region of large momentum transfer. As input, we use the QCD light-cone sum rule at small momentum transfer. We carry out a comprehensive Bayesian uncertainty analysis and obtain correlated uncertainties for the normalization and shape parameters of the form factor. The $z$-series parametrization for $f_{Bπ}^+$ is employed to extrapolate our results to large momentum transfer, and to compare with the lattice QCD results. To test the validity of our extrapolation we use the upper and lower bounds from the unitarity and positivity of the two-point correlator of heavy-light quark currents. This correlator is updated by including the NNLO perturbative term and the NLO correction to the quark condensate contribution. We demonstrate that an additional input including the form factor, its first and second derivative calculated at one value of momentum transfer from the light-cone sum rules, considerably improves the bounds. This only holds when the correlations between the form factor parameters are taken into account. We further combine our results with the latest experimental measurements of $B\to π\ell ν_\ell$ by the BaBar and Belle collaborations, and obtain $|V_{ub}|= (3.32^{+0.26}_{-0.22}) \cdot 10^{-3}$ from a Bayesian analysis.
We re-investigate the effects of the $1/m_c$ corrections on the spectrum of the lowest orbitally excited $D$-meson states. We argue that one should expect the $1/m_c$ corrections to induce a significant mixing between the two lowest lying $1^+$ states. We discuss the implications of this mixing and compute its effect on the semileptonic decays $B \to D^{**} \ell \barν$ and the strong $D^{**}$ decays.
We give improved estimates for the non-perturbative parameters appearing in the heavy quark expansion for inclusive decays. While the parameters appearing in low orders of this expansion can be extracted from data, the number of parameters in higher orders proliferates strongly, making a determination of these parameters from data impossible. Thus, one has to rely on theoretical estimates which may be obtained from an insertion of intermediate states. In this paper we refine this method and attempt to estimate the uncertainties of this approach.
We present the results of a calculation of the perturbative QCD corrections for the semileptonic inclusive width of a heavy flavored meson. Within the Heavy Quark Expansion we analytically compute the QCD correction to the coefficient of power suppressed contribution of the chromo-magnetic operator in the limit of vanishing mass of the final state quark. The important phenomenological applications are decays of bottom mesons, and to the less extend, charmed mesons.
We study the semileptonic $b\to u$ transition in the decay mode $B^-\to π^+π^-\ell^-\barν_\ell$. We define $B\to ππ$ form factors in the helicity basis, and study their properties in various kinematic limits, including form factor relations in the heavy-mass and large-energy limits, the decomposition into partial waves of the dipion system, and the resonant contribution of vector and scalar mesons. We show how angular observables in $B^-\to π^+π^-\ell^-\barν_\ell$ can be used to measure dipion form factors or to perform null tests of the Standard Model.
Top quark physics at the LHC may open a window to physics beyond the standard model and even lead us to an understanding of the phenomenon "flavour". However, current flavour data is a strong hint that no "new physics" with a generic flavour structure can be expected in the TeV scale. In turn, if there is "new physics" at the TeV scale, it must be "minimally flavour violating". This has become a widely accepted assumption for "new physics" models. In this paper we propose a model-independent scheme to test minimal flavour violation for the anomalous charged $Wtq$, $q\in{d,s,b}$, and flavour-changing $Vtq$, $q\in{u,c}$ and $V\in{Z,γ,g}$ couplings within an effective field theory framework, i.e., in a model-independent way. We perform a spurion analysis of our effective field theory approach and calculate the decay rates for the anomalous top-quark decays in terms of the effective couplings for different helicities by using a two-Higgs doublet model of type II, under the assumption that the top-quark is produced at a high-energy collision and decays as a quasi-free particle.
We present a QCD analysis of heavy quark mesons focussing on the B -> D* formfactor at zero recoil, F_D*(1). An advanced treatment of the perturbative corrections in the Wilsonian approach is presented. We estimate the higher-order power corrections to the OPE sum rule and describe a refined analysis of the nonresonant continuum contribution. In the framework of a model-independent approach, we show that the inelastic contribution in the phenomenological part of the OPE is related to the mQ-dependence of the hyperfine splitting and conclude that the former is large, lowering the prediction for F_D*(1) down to about 0.86. This likewise implies an enhanced yield of radial and D-wave charm excitations in semileptonic B decays and alleviates the problem with the inclusive yield of the wide excited states. We also apply the approach to the expectation values of dimension 7 and 8 local operators and to a few other issues in the heavy quark expansion.
The reported CP asymmetry in D->K^+K^- / pi^+pi^- is argued to be too large to naturally fit the SM. If so, a new source of CP violation is implied in the Delta C=1 sector with a milliweak strength. CP-odd interactions in the flavor-diagonal sector are strongly constrained by the EDMs placing severe limitations on the underlying theory. While the largest effects usually come from the New Physics energy scale, they are strongly model-dependent. Yet the interference of the CP-odd forces manifested in D decays with the conventional CP-even Delta C=1 weak interaction generates at the charm scale a background level. It has been argued that the d_n in the SM is largely generated via such an interference, with mild KM-specific additional suppression. The reported CP asymmetry is expected to generate d_n of 30 to 100 times larger than in the SM, or even higher in certain model yet not quite natural examples. In the SM the charm-induced loop-less |d_n| is expected around 10^{-31}e*cm. On the technical side, we present a compact Ward-identity--based derivation of the induced scalar pion-nucleon coupling in the presence of the CP-odd interactions, which appears once the latter include the right-handed light quarks.
We analyze heavy-to-light baryonic form factors at large recoil and derive the scaling behavior of these form factors in the heavy quark limit. It is shown that only one universal form factor is needed to parameterize Lambda_b to p and Lambda_b to Lambda matrix elements in the large recoil limit of light baryons, while hadronic matrix elements of Lambda_b to Sigma transition vanish in the large energy limit of Sigma baryon due to the space-time parity symmetry. The scaling law of the soft form factor eta(P^{\prime} \cdot v), P^{\prime} and v being the momentum of nucleon and the velocity of Lambda_b baryon, responsible for Lambda_b to p transitions is also derived using the nucleon distribution amplitudes in leading conformal spin. In particular, we verify that this scaling behavior is in full agreement with that from light-cone sum rule approach in the heavy-quark limit. With these form factors, we further investigate the Lambda baryon polarization asymmetry alpha in Lambda_b to Lambda gamma and the forward-backward asymmetry A_{FB} in Lambda_b to Lambda l^{+} l^{-}. Both two observables (alpha and A_{FB}) are independent of hadronic form factors in leading power of 1/m_b and in leading order of alpha_s. We also extend the analysis of hadronic matrix elements for Omega_b to Omega transitions to rare Omega_b to Omega gamma and Omega_b to Omega l^{+} l^{-} decays and find that radiative Omega_b to Omega gamma decay is probably the most promising FCNC b to s radiative baryonic decay channel. In addition, it is interesting to notice that the zero-point of forward-backward asymmetry of Omega_b to Omega l^{+} l^{-} is the same as the one for Lambda_b to Lambda l^{+} l^{-} to leading order accuracy provided that the form factors \barζ_i (i=3, 4, 5) are numerically as small as indicated from the quark model.
We consider the exclusive decays $B \to D^{(*)}\,\ell \barν$ and study the effect of non $V-A$ structures on the observables. We extend the standard model hadronic current by additional right-handed vector as well as left- and right-handed scalar and tensor contributions and calculate the decay rates including the perturbative corrections up to order $α_s$. Using the data of the exclusive semileptonic $b \to c $ decays and recent calculations of the form factors at the non-recoil point we discuss the constraints to the wrong helicity admixtures in the hadronic current.
We discuss order 1/m_b^4 and 1/m_b^5 corrections in inclusive semileptonic decay of a $B$ meson. We identify relevant hadronic matrix elements of dimension seven and eight and estimate them using the ground-state saturation approximation. Within this approach the effects on the integrated rate and on kinematic moments are estimated. The overall relative shift in V_{cb} turns out about +0.4% as applied to the existing fits. Similar estimates are presented for B -> X_s+γdecays.
The Flavour Symmetry of the Standard Model (SM) gauge sector is broken by the fermion Yukawa couplings. Promoting the Yukawa matrices to scalar spurion fields, one can break the flavour symmetry spontaneously by giving appropriate vacuum expectation values (VEVs) to the spurion fields, and one encounters Goldstone modes for every broken flavour symmetry generator. In this paper, we point out various aspects related to the possible dynamical interpretation of the Goldstone bosons: (i) In an effective-theory framework with local flavour symmetry, the Goldstone fields represent the longitudinal modes for massive gauge bosons. The spectrum of the latter follows the sequence of flavour-symmetry breaking related to the hierarchies in Yukawa couplings and flavour mixing angles. (ii) Gauge anomalies can be consistently treated by adding higher-dimensional operators. (iii) Leaving the U(1) factors of the flavour symmetry group as global symmetries, the respective Goldstone modes behave as axions which can be used to resolve the strong CP problem by a modified Peccei-Quinn mechanism. (iv) The dynamical picture of flavour symmetry breaking implies new sources of flavour-changing neutral currents, which arise from integrating out heavy scalar spurion fields and heavy gauge bosons. The coefficients of the effective operators follow the minimal-flavour violation principle.
We examine the B -> D* form factor at zero recoil using a continuum QCD approach rooted in the heavy quark sum rules framework. A refined evaluation of the radiative corrections as well as the most recent estimates of higher order power terms together with more careful continuum calculation are included. An upper bound on the form factor of F(1)< 0.93 is derived, based on just the positivity of inelastic contributions. A model-independent estimate of the inelastic contributions shows they are quite significant, lowering the form factor by about 6% or more. This results in an unbiased estimate F(1) \approx 0.86 with about three percent uncertainty in the central value.
We determine an upper bound for a possible right-handed $b{\to}c$ quark current admixture in semileptonic $\bar{B} \to X_{c} \ell^{-} \barν$ decays from a simulateous fit to moments of the lepton-enery and hadronic-mass distribution measured as a function of the lower limit on the lepton energy, using data measured by the \babar\ detector. The right-handed admixture is parametrized by a new parameter $c_R$ as coefficient of computed moments with right-handed quark current. For the standard model part we use the prediction of the heavy-quark expansion (HQE) up to order $1/m_b^3$ and perturbative corrections and for the right-handed contribution only up to order $1/m_b^2$ and perturbative corrections. We find $\cR=0.05\asympm{+0.33}{-0.50}$ in agreement with the standard-model prediction of zero. Additionally, we give a contraint on a possible right-handed admixture from exclusive decays, which is with a value of $\cR =0.01{\pm}0.03$ more restrictive than our value from the inclusive fit. The difference in \Vcb between the inclusive and exclusive extraction is only slightly reduced when allowing for a right-handed admixture in the range of $\cR=0.01 {\pm} 0.03$.
We describe two complementary ways to show the presence of higher order effects in the 1/m_Q expansion for inclusive B decays that have been dubbed "Intrinsic Charm". Apart from the lessons they can teach us about QCD's nonperturbative dynamics their consideration is relevant for precise extractions of |V_{cb}|: for they complement the estimate of the potential impact of 1/m_Q^4 contributions. We draw semiquantitative conclusions for the expected scale of Weak Annihilation in semileptonic B decays, both for its valence and non-valence components.