Averages of b-hadron, c-hadron, and tau-lepton properties as of 2018 Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFLAV)

This paper reports world averages of measurements of b-hadron, c-hadron, and τ -lepton properties obtained by the Heavy Flavour Averaging Group using results available through September 2018. In rare cases, significant results obtained several months later are also used. For the averaging, common input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and known correlations are taken into account. The averages include branching fractions, lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters, C P violation parameters, parameters of semileptonic decays, and Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix elements

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe