Theory of CP violation in B decays

The study of CP violation in $B$-meson decays has already reached a high level of precision, which will be pushed even higher in the future era of Belle-II and the LHCb upgrade. %Important probes of CP violation are the $B_d^0$ and $B_s^0$ mixing phases and the CKM angle $\gamma$. Here, the theoretical challenge is to control the uncertainties from strong interactions to distinguish between the Standard Model and possible New Physics effects. In this talk, I will present a selected overview of recent theoretical developments in this field. This includes, in particular, the semileptonic asymmetry $a_{\text{sl}}^s$ and extractions of the CKM angle $\gamma$ and the $B_d^0$ and $B_s^0$ mixing phases. I focus on recently proposed strategies in which the theory uncertainties can be controlled through data using flavour symmetries of the strong interaction. A newly found puzzle in the $B \to \pi K$ system is highlighted and a theoretically clean way to determine the underlying electroweak penguin parameters is discussed. Finally, the recent progress to describe three-body $B$ decays in QCD factorization is discussed.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of The International Conference on B-Physics at Frontier Machines - BEAUTY2018, La Biodola, Elba Island, Italy, 6-11 May, 2018 and in the proceedings of the XIV International Conference on Heavy Quarks and Leptons (HQL2018), Yamagata, Japan, May 27- June 1, 201

Asymptotic Freedom: From Paradox to Paradigm

Asymptotic freedom was developed as a response to two paradoxes: the weirdness of quarks, and in particular their failure to radiate copiously when struck; and the coexistence of special relativity and quantum theory, despite the apparent singularity of quantum field theory. It resolved these paradoxes, and catalyzed the development of several modern paradigms: the hard reality of quarks and gluons, the origin of mass from energy, the simplicity of the early universe, and the power of symmetry as a guide to physical law.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. Lecture on receipt of the 2004 Nobel Prize. v2: typo (in Ohm's law) correcte

Discovering the New Standard Model: Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos

This White Paper describes recent progress and future opportunities in the area of fundamental symmetries and neutrinos.Comment: Report of the Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos Workshop, August 10-11, 2012, Chicago, I

Full Spin and Spatial Symmetry Adapted Technique for Correlated Electronic Hamiltonians: Application to an Icosahedral Cluster

One of the long standing problems in quantum chemistry had been the inability to exploit full spatial and spin symmetry of an electronic Hamiltonian belonging to a non-Abelian point group. Here we present a general technique which can utilize all the symmetries of an electronic (magnetic) Hamiltonian to obtain its full eigenvalue spectrum. This is a hybrid method based on Valence Bond basis and the basis of constant z-component of the total spin. This technique is applicable to systems with any point group symmetry and is easy to implement on a computer. We illustrate the power of the method by applying it to a model icosahedral half-filled electronic system. This model spans a huge Hilbert space (dimension 1,778,966) and in the largest non-Abelian point group. The $C_{60}$ molecule has this symmetry and hence our calculation throw light on the higher energy excited states of the bucky ball. This method can also be utilized to study finite temperature properties of strongly correlated systems within an exact diagonalization approach.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, abstract rewritten, a few changes in text, to appear in International Journal of Quantum Chemistr

CP violation in the B system

The phenomenon of CP violation is crucial to understand the asymmetry between matter and antimatter that exists in the Universe. Dramatic experimental progress has been made, in particular in measurements of the behaviour of particles containing the b quark, where CP violation effects are predicted by the Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism that is embedded in the Standard Model. The status of these measurements and future prospects for an understanding of CP violation beyond the Standard Model are reviewed.Comment: Invited review for Rep. Prog. Phys. v2 corresponds to published versio