A Biased Review of Tau Neutrino Mass Limits

After a quick review of astrophysically relevant limits, I present a summary of MeV scale tau neutrino mass limits derived from accelerator based experiments. I argue that the current published limits appear to be too consistent, and that we therefore cannot conclude that the tau neutrino mass limit is as low as usually claimed. I provide motivational arguments calling into question the assumed statistical properties of the usual maxumum likelihood estimators, and provide a prescription for deriving a more robust and understandable mass limit.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. To appear in the Proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop on Tau Lepton Physics, Sept 18-21 2000, Victoria (Canada

Universality and Lepton Flavor Violation in Upsilon Decays at CLEO

I present two analyses done with the CLEOIII detector at CESR. The first is a search for the Lepton Flavor Violating decay Upsilon to mu tau, with preliminary results, and the second constrains Lepton Universality in Upsilon to tau tau relative to Upsilon to mu mu. This second analysis, whose results are final, has dramatically improved uncertainties relative to other such measurements, and is also the first observation of the decay Upsilon(3S) to tau tau. A limit is also set on the involvement of a CP odd Higgs in the decay of the Upsilon(1S) to tau pairs.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in proceedings of The 9th International Workshop on Tau-Lepton Physics, Tau0

Semileptonic form factors - a model-independent approach

We demonstrate that the B->D(*) l nu form factors can be accurately predicted given the slope parameter rho^2 of the Isgur-Wise function. Only weak assumptions, consistent with lattice results, on the wavefunction for the light degrees of freedom are required to establish this result. We observe that the QCD and 1/m_Q corrections can be systematically represented by an effective Isgur-Wise function of shifted slope. This greatly simplifies the analysis of semileptonic B decay. We also investigate what the available semileptonic data can tell us about lattice QCD and Heavy Quark Effective Theory. A rigorous identity relating the form factor slope difference rho_D^2-rho_A1^2 to a combination of form factor intercepts is found. The identity provides a means of checking theoretically evaluated intercepts with experiment.Comment: 18 pages, Revtex, 4 postscript figures, uses epsfig.st

Updated Analysis of a_1 and a_2 in Hadronic Two-body Decays of B Mesons

Using the recent experimental data of $B\to D^{(*)}(\pi,\rho)$, $B\to D^{(*)} D_s^{(*)}$, $B\to J/\psi K^{(*)}$ and various model calculations on form factors, we re-analyze the effective coefficients a_1 and a_2 and their ratio. QCD and electroweak penguin corrections to a_1 from $B\to D^{(*)}D_s^{(*)}$ and a_2 from $B\to J/\psi K^{(*)}$ are estimated. In addition to the model-dependent determination, the effective coefficient a_1 is also extracted in a model-independent way as the decay modes $B\to D^{(*)}h$ are related by factorization to the measured semileptonic distribution of $B\to D^{(*)}\ell \bar\nu$ at $q^2=m_h^2$. Moreover, this enables us to extract model-independent heavy-to-heavy form factors, for example, $F_0^{BD}(m_\pi^2)=0.66\pm0.06\pm0.05$ and $A_0^{BD^*}(m_\pi^2)=0.56\pm0.03\pm0.04$. The determination of the magnitude of a_2 from $B\to J/\psi K^{(*)}$ depends on the form factors $F_1^{BK}$, $A_{1,2}^{BK^*}$ and $V^{BK^*}$ at $q^2=m^2_{J/\psi}$. By requiring that a_2 be process insensitive (i.e., the value of a_2 extracted from $J/\psi K$ and $J/\psi K^*$ states should be similar), as implied by the factorization hypothesis, we find that $B\to K^{(*)}$ form factors are severely constrained; they respect the relation $F_1^{BK}(m^2_{J/\psi})\approx 1.9 A_1^{BK^*}(m^2_{J/\psi})$. Form factors $A_2^{BK^*}$ and $V^{BK^*}$ at $q^2=m^2_{J/\psi}$ inferred from the measurements of the longitudinal polarization fraction and the P-wave component in $B\to J/\psi K^*$ are obtained. A stringent upper limit on a_2 is derived from the current bound on \ov B^0\to D^0\pi^0 and it is sensitive to final-state interactions.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figures. Typos in Tables I and IX are corrected. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Measurement of the B-Meson Inclusive Semileptonic Branching Fraction and Electron-Energy Moments

We report a new measurement of the B-meson semileptonic decay momentum spectrum that has been made with a sample of 9.4/fb of electron-positron annihilation data collected with the CLEO II detector at the Y(4S) resonance. Electrons from primary semileptonic decays and secondary charm decays were separated by using charge and angular correlations in Y(4S) events with a high-momentum lepton and an additional electron. We determined the semileptonic branching fraction to be (10.91 +- 0.09 +- 0.24)% from the normalization of the electron-energy spectrum. We also measured the moments of the electron energy spectrum with minimum energies from 0.6 GeV to 1.5 GeV.Comment: 36 pages postscript, als available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, Submitted to PRD (back-to-back with preceding preprint hep-ex/0403052

Anti-Search for the Glueball Candidate f_J(2220) in Two-Photon Interactions

Using 13.3 fb^{-1} of e^+e^- data recorded with the CLEO II and CLEO II.V detector configurations at CESR, we have searched for f_J(2220) decays to K^0_{S} K^0_{S} in untagged two-photon interactions. We report an upper limit on the product of the two-photon partial width and the branching fraction, Gamma_gamma gamma cdot B (f_J(2220) to K^0_{S} K^0_{S}) of less than 1.1 eV at the 95% C.L: systematic uncertainties are included. This dataset is four times larger than that used in the previous CLEO publication.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, Submitted to PRD (R

Observation of a Narrow Resonance of Mass 2.46 GeV/c^2 Decaying to D_s^*+ pi^0 and Confirmation of the D_sJ^* (2317) State

Using 13.5 inverse fb of e+e- annihilation data collected with the CLEO II detector we have observed a narrow resonance in the Ds*+pi0 final state, with a mass near 2.46 GeV. The search for such a state was motivated by the recent discovery by the BaBar Collaboration of a narrow state at 2.32 GeV, the DsJ*(2317)+ that decays to Ds+pi0. Reconstructing the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 final states in CLEO data, we observe peaks in both of the corresponding reconstructed mass difference distributions, dM(Dspi0)=M(Dspi0)-M(Ds) and dM(Ds*pi0)=M(Ds*pi0)-M(Ds*), both of them at values near 350 MeV. We interpret these peaks as signatures of two distinct states, the DsJ*(2317)+ plus a new state, designated as the DsJ(2463)+. Because of the similar dM values, each of these states represents a source of background for the other if photons are lost, ignored or added. A quantitative accounting of these reflections confirms that both states exist. We have measured the mean mass differences = 350.0 +/- 1.2 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the DsJ*(2317) state, and = 351.2 +/- 1.7 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the new DsJ(2463)+ state. We have also searched, but find no evidence, for decays of the two states via the channels Ds*+gamma, Ds+gamma, and Ds+pi+pi-. The observations of the two states at 2.32 and 2.46 GeV, in the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 decay channels respectively, are consistent with their interpretations as (c anti-strange) mesons with orbital angular momentum L=1, and spin-parities of 0+ and 1+.Comment: 16 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, version to be published in Physical Review D; minor modifications and fixes to typographical errors, plus an added section on production properties. The main results are unchanged; they supersede those reported in hep-ex/030501

Measurement of the Charge Asymmetry in B→K∗(892)±π∓B\to K^* (892)^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}

We report on a search for a CP-violating asymmetry in the charmless hadronic decay B -> K*(892)+- pi-+, using 9.12 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity produced at \sqrt{s}=10.58 GeV and collected with the CLEO detector. We find A_{CP}(B -> K*(892)+- pi-+) = 0.26+0.33-0.34(stat.)+0.10-0.08(syst.), giving an allowed interval of [-0.31,0.78] at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 7 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Study of the q^2-Dependence of B --> pi ell nu and B --> rho(omega)ell nu Decay and Extraction of |V_ub|

We report on determinations of |Vub| resulting from studies of the branching fraction and q^2 distributions in exclusive semileptonic B decays that proceed via the b->u transition. Our data set consists of the 9.7x10^6 BBbar meson pairs collected at the Y(4S) resonance with the CLEO II detector. We measure B(B0 -> pi- l+ nu) = (1.33 +- 0.18 +- 0.11 +- 0.01 +- 0.07)x10^{-4} and B(B0 -> rho- l+ nu) = (2.17 +- 0.34 +0.47/-0.54 +- 0.41 +- 0.01)x10^{-4}, where the errors are statistical, experimental systematic, systematic due to residual form-factor uncertainties in the signal, and systematic due to residual form-factor uncertainties in the cross-feed modes, respectively. We also find B(B+ -> eta l+ nu) = (0.84 +- 0.31 +- 0.16 +- 0.09)x10^{-4}, consistent with what is expected from the B -> pi l nu mode and quark model symmetries. We extract |Vub| using Light-Cone Sum Rules (LCSR) for 0<= q^2<16 GeV^2 and Lattice QCD (LQCD) for 16 GeV^2 <= q^2 < q^2_max. Combining both intervals yields |Vub| = (3.24 +- 0.22 +- 0.13 +0.55/-0.39 +- 0.09)x10^{-3}$ for pi l nu, and |Vub| = (3.00 +- 0.21 +0.29/-0.35 +0.49/-0.38 +-0.28)x10^{-3} for rho l nu, where the errors are statistical, experimental systematic, theoretical, and signal form-factor shape, respectively. Our combined value from both decay modes is |Vub| = (3.17 +- 0.17 +0.16/-0.17 +0.53/-0.39 +-0.03)x10^{-3}.Comment: 45 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Study of the B^0 Semileptonic Decay Spectrum at the Upsilon(4S) Resonance

We have made a first measurement of the lepton momentum spectrum in a sample of events enriched in neutral B's through a partial reconstruction of B0 --> D*- l+ nu. This spectrum, measured with 2.38 fb**-1 of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the CLEO II detector, is compared directly to the inclusive lepton spectrum from all Upsilon(4S) events in the same data set. These two spectra are consistent with having the same shape above 1.5 GeV/c. From the two spectra and two other CLEO measurements, we obtain the B0 and B+ semileptonic branching fractions, b0 and b+, their ratio, and the production ratio f+-/f00 of B+ and B0 pairs at the Upsilon(4S). We report b+/b0=0.950 (+0.117-0.080) +- 0.091, b0 = (10.78 +- 0.60 +- 0.69)%, and b+ = (10.25 +- 0.57 +- 0.65)%. b+/b0 is equivalent to the ratio of charged to neutral B lifetimes, tau+/tau0.Comment: 14 page, postscript file also available at http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN