HFAG-charm averages

The extraction of charm mixing and CP violation parameters requires the combination of many measurements. The latest averages are reviewed and the contribution of individual measurements is discussed. While it is established that the CP-even eigenstate is the shorter lived, the oscillation frequency of charm mesons is still not known to high accuracy. All CP asymmetries are found to be compatible with zero within less than 3 sigma.Comment: Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle (CKM 2014), Vienna, Austria, September 8-12, 201

Measurement of CP asymmetries in D0→hhD^0 \rightarrow hh decays

The latest measurements of the individual time-integrated CP asymmetry in the Cabibbo-suppressed decays $D^0\rightarrow hh$ decays are presented. The results are based on $pp$ collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3 fb^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. A combination of the asymmetries using both prompt and secondary charm decays is presented $A_{CP}(K^-K^+) = (0.04 \pm 0.12(stat) \pm 0.10(syst))$; $A_{CP}(\pi^-\pi^+) = (0.07 \pm 0.14(stat) \pm 0.11(syst))$. These are the most precise measurements from a single experiment. The result for $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)$ is the most precise determination of a time-integrated CP asymmetry in the charm sector to date, and neither measurement shows evidence of CP asymmetry.Comment: VIII International Workshop On Charm Physics, 5-9 September, 2016, Bologna, Ital

The charm physics programme at the LHCb upgrade, and Atlas and CMS upgrades

Charm physics has been established at the LHC based on several high-precision measurements. The future of charm physics at the LHC experiments is discussed in detail. The bulk of the charm physics programme will be performed by LHCb and the LHCb upgrade. In particular, the impact of the LHCb upgrade on mixing and \CP violation measurements is presented.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of The 5th International Workshop on Charm Physics (Charm 2012

Direct CPV in two-body and multi-body charm decays at LHCb

The Standard Model predicts CP asymmetries in charm decays of $O(10^{-3})$ and the observation of significantly larger CP violation could indicate non-Standard Model physics effects. During 2011 and 2012, the LHCb experiment collected a sample corresponding to 3/fb yielding the world's largest sample of decays of charmed hadrons. This allowed the CP violation in charm to be studied with unprecedented precision in many two- body and multibody decay modes. The most recent LHCb searches for direct CP violation are presented in these proceedings.Comment: 6 pages, Contribution to proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle (CKM 2014), Vienna, Austria, September 8-12, 201

Introduction to Charm Physics

This paper gives an overview of charm physics. It is a lecture write-up aimed at students with a minimum of prior knowledge in particle physics, but at the same time provides a state-of-the art review of the field. The main focus is on mixing and CP violation, which is a field with ever growing attention since first evidence for charm mixing was observed in 2007. Other areas covered are charm spectroscopy, production, as well as rare decays.Comment: 39 pages, 11 figures. Proceedings of the workshop "Flavorful Ways to New Physics", October 28-31 2014, Freudenstadt, German

Impact of misalignments on the analysis of B decays

This note investigates the effects of a misaligned tracking system on the analysis of B decays. Misalignment effects of both the vertex locator and the inner and outer T-stations have been studied. $z$-scaling effects of the vertex locator are also considered. It is proven that misalignments of the order of the detector single-hit resolutions have little or negligible effects on the quality of the reconstruction and of the analysis of B decays. The studies were performed with a sample of $B^0_{(s)} \to h^+h^{'-}$ decays, but the impact of misalignments on the performance of the pattern recognition algorithms and on the primary vertex resolutions, assessed for the first time, are rather general and not restricted to $B^0_{(s)} \to h^+h^{'-}$ decays

LHCb VELO software alignment, Part III: the alignment of the relative sensor positions

The LHCb Vertex Locator contains 42 silicon sensor modules. Each module has two silicon sensors. A method for determining the relative alignment of the silicon sensors within each module from data is presented. The software implementation details are discussed. Monte-Carlo simulation studies are described that demonstrate an alignment precision of 1.3 micron is obtained in the sensor plane

Alignment procedure of the LHCb Vertex Detector

LHCb is one of the four main experiments of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project, which will start at CERN in 2008. The experiment is primarily dedicated to B-Physics and hence requires precise vertex reconstruction. The silicon vertex locator (VELO) has a single hit precision of better than 10 micron and is used both off-line and in the trigger. These requirements place strict constraints on its alignment. Additional challenges for the alignment arise from the detector being retracted between each fill of the LHC and from its unique circular disc r/phi strip geometry. This paper describes the track based software alignment procedure developed for the VELO. The procedure is primarily based on a non-iterative method using a matrix inversion technique. The procedure is demonstrated with simulated events to be fast, robust and to achieve a suitable alignment precision.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM

ReDecay: A novel approach to speed up the simulation at LHCb

With the steady increase in the precision of flavour physics measurements collected during LHC Run 2, the LHCb experiment requires simulated data samples of larger and larger sizes to study the detector response in detail. The simulation of the detector response is the main contribution to the time needed to simulate full events. This time scales linearly with the particle multiplicity. Of the dozens of particles present in the simulation only the few participating in the signal decay under study are of interest, while all remaining particles mainly affect the resolutions and efficiencies of the detector. This paper presents a novel development for the LHCb simulation software which re-uses the rest of the event from previously simulated events. This approach achieves an order of magnitude increase in speed and the same quality compared to the nominal simulation

B Physics at the LHC

The LHC is scheduled to start its first physics data taking period later in 2009. Primarily LHCb but also ATLAS and CMS will start a rich B physics programme with the potential of revealing New Physics in the heavy flavour sector. This contribution will cover the prospects for B physics at the LHC with particular emphasis to early measurements. This includes CP violation measurements in $B^0_d$ and $B^0_s$ decays, searches for rare decays such as $B^0_s$ $\rightarrow$ $\mu\mu$, as well as semileptonic and radiative channels