Techniques for computing two-loop QCD corrections to b-->c transitions

We have recently presented the complete O(alpha_s^2) corrections to the semileptonic decay width of the b quark at maximal recoil. Here we discuss various technical aspects of that calculation and further applications of similar methods. In particular, we describe an expansion which facilitates the phase space integrations and the treatment of the mixed real-virtual corrections, for which Taylor expansion does not work and the so-called eikonal expansion must be employed. Several terms of the expansion are given for the O(alpha_s^2) QCD corrections to the differential semileptonic decay width of the b --quark at maximal recoil. We also demonstrate how the light quark loop corrections to the top quark decay rate can be obtained using the same methods. We briefly discuss the application of these techniques to the calculation of the O(alpha_s^2) correction to zero recoil sum rules for heavy flavor transitions.Comment: 22 pages, revte

Two-loop QCD corrections to semileptonic b decays at maximal recoil

We present a complete $O(\alpha_s^2)$ correction to the differential width of the inclusive semileptonic decay $b\to cl\nu_l$ at the kinematical point of vanishing invariant mass of the leptons, $q^2=0$. Together with the recently computed $O(\alpha_s^2)$ correction at the upper boundary of the lepton invariant mass spectrum, this new information permits an estimate of the $O(\alpha_s^2)$ effect in the total inclusive semileptonic decay width $b\to cl\nu_l$. We argue that the non-BLM part of the $O(\alpha_s^2)$ correction gives at most 1% correction to the inclusive semileptonic decay width $b\to cl\nu_l$. This significantly improves the credibility of extracting $|V_{cb}|$ from the inclusive semileptonic decays of the b-hadrons.Comment: 8 pages, revte

Semi-Leptonic Decay of a Polarized Top Quark in the Noncommutative Standard Model

In this paper we study the noncommutative effects to the lepton spectrum from the decay of a polarized top quark. It is shown that the lowest contribution comes from the quadratic terms of the noncommutative parameter. The deviations from the standard model are significant for small values of the noncommutative characteristic scale. However, the charged lepton spin correlation coefficient has a remarkable deviation from the standard model from very low values of the noncommutative characteristic scale to 1 TeV.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Threshold expansion for heavy-light systems and flavor off-diagonal current-current correlators

An expansion scheme is developed for Feynman diagrams describing the production of one massive and one massless particle near the threshold. As an example application, we compute the correlators of heavy-light quark currents, (\bar b gamma_mu u) and (\bar b gamma_5 u), through O(alpha_s^2).Comment: 4 pages, revtex

Stability of tetrons

We consider the interactions in a mesonic system, referred here to as `tetron', consisting of two heavy quarks and two lighter antiquarks (which may still be heavy in the scale of QCD), i.e. generally $Q_a Q_b \bar q_c \bar q_d$, and study the existence of bound states below the threshold for decay into heavy meson pairs. At a small ratio of the lighter to heavier quark masses an expansion parameter arises for treatment of the binding in such systems. We find that in the limit where all the quarks and antiquarks are so heavy that a Coulomb-like approximation can be applied to the gluon exchange between all of them, such bound states arise when this parameter is below a certain critical value. We find the parametric dependence of the critical mass ratio on the number of colors $N_c$, and confirm this dependence by numerical calculations. In particular there are no stable tetrons when all constituents have the same mass. We discuss an application of a similar expansion in the large $N_c$ limit to realistic systems where the antiquarks are light and their interactions are nonperturbative. In this case our findings are in agreement with the recent claims from a phenomenological analysis that a stable $b b \bar u \bar d$ tetron is likely to exist, unlike those where one or both bottom quarks are replaced by the charmed quark.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

V-a Tests Through Leptons from Polarised Top Quarks

Angular-energy distributions are studied for charged leptons and neutrinos from the decays of polarised top quarks. A small admixture of V+A interactions is incorporated. The polarisation dependent part of the neutrino distribution which can be measured experimentally through the missing momentum is particularly sensitive towards deviations from the V-A structure. This result remains unaffected by QCD corrections which, however, cannot be neglected in a quantitative analysis.Comment: 10 pages, LaTex (uses epsf.sty, 2 figures appended as uuencoded ps files). A complete postscript file, including figures, is available via anonymous ftp at ttpux2.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de (129.13.102.139) as /ttp94-4/ttp94-4.ps, Local preprint# TTP94-

Semileptonic b --> u decays: lepton invariant mass spectrum

We compute O(alpha_s^2) QCD corrections to the lepton invariant mass spectrum in the decay b --> u l nu_l, relevant for the determination of the CKM matrix element |V_{ub}|. Our method can also be used to evaluate moments of the lepton energy distribution with an O(alpha_s^2) accuracy. The abelian part of our result gives the neutrino invariant mass spectrum in the muon decay and, upon integration, the O(alpha^2) correction to the muon lifetime.Comment: 5 pages, revte

Theoretical pressure distributions over arbitrarily shaped periodic waves in subsonic compressible flow and comparison with experiment

Theoretical solution for pressure distribution over arbitrarily shaped periodic waves using Fourier serie