Semileptonic B decays at BaBar

This paper summarizes the content of a talk given by the author at the Lake Louise Winter Institute, on February 21st 2007. It presents recent measurements of the rates for semileptonic B decays using data collected by the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy collider at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Mesure DU Rapport D'Embranchement ET DU Facteur Deforme DE La D_Sint_Gration b0 to Pilnu, ET D_Termination DE |Vub| Avec Unetechnique DE Reconstruction Rel_Ch_E DU Neutrinoac

The authors report the results of a study of the exclusive charmless semileptonic decay, B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup -}{ell}{sup +}{nu}, undertaken with approximately 227 million B{bar B} pairs collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector. The analysis uses events in which the signal B decays are reconstructed with an innovative loose neutrino reconstruction technique. They obtain partial branching fractions in 12 bins of q{sup 2}, the momentum transfer squared, from which they extract the f{sub +}(q{sup 2}) form-factor shape and the total branching fraction {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup -}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (1.46 {+-} 0.07{sub stat} {+-} 0.08{sub syst}) x 10{sup -4}. Based on a recent unquenched lattice QCD calculation of the form factor in the range q{sup 2} > 16 GeV{sup 2}/c{sup 4}, they find the magnitude of the CKM matrix element |V{sub ub}| to be (4.1 {+-} 0.2{sub stat} {+-} 0.2{sub syst{sub -0.4}{sup +0.6}FF}) x 10{sup -3}, where the last uncertainty is due to the normalization of the form factor

Constraints on B and Higgs Physics in Minimal Low Energy Supersymmetric Models

We study the implications of minimal flavor violating low energy supersymmetry scenarios for the search of new physics in the B and Higgs sectors at the Tevatron collider and the LHC. We show that the already stringent Tevatron bound on the decay rate B_s -> mu+ mu- sets strong constraints on the possibility of generating large corrections to the mass difference Delta M_s of the B_s eigenstates. We also show that the B_s -> mu+ mu- bound together with the constraint on the branching ratio of the rare decay b -> s gamma has strong implications for the search of light, non-standard Higgs bosons at hadron colliders. In doing this, we demonstrate that the former expressions derived for the analysis of the double penguin contributions in the Kaon sector need to be corrected by additional terms for a realistic analysis of these effects. We also study a specific non-minimal flavor violating scenario, where there are flavor changing gluino-squark-quark interactions, governed by the CKM matrix elements, and show that the B and Higgs physics constraints are similar to the ones in the minimal flavor violating case. Finally we show that, in scenarios like electroweak baryogenesis which have light stops and charginos, there may be enhanced effects on the B and K mixing parameters, without any significant effect on the rate of B_s -> mu+ mu-.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figures; added references and note about recent measurement

Semileptonic B Decays, B Mixing And Magnitudes of CKM Elements at BaBar

The value of |V{sub cb}| has been measured recently from a simultaneous fit to moments of the hadronic-mass and lepton-energy distributions in inclusive semileptonic B-mesons decays with a precision of 2%. Both exclusive and inclusive measurements of |V{sub ub}| have also been carried out in B {yields} X{sub u}{ell}{nu} decays. Precision measurements of the mixing parameter, {Delta}m{sub d}, have been obtained. In addition, direct limits on the total decay-rate difference {Delta}{Lambda} between the two B{sup 0} mass eigenstates and on CP, T and CPT violation due exclusively to oscillations have recently been provided by BaBar

R Measurements With ISR in BaBar: Hadronic Part of Muon Magnetic Dipole Moment

Recent measurements of the quantity R, the ratio of annihilation {sigma}, including those following Initial State Radiation, are discussed in the context of the hadronic part of {mu}, the muon magnetic dipole moment. The data indicate that more precise theoretical and experimental values of {mu} are needed to establish whether new physics has been observed in the measurement of {mu}

On the influence of the cosmological constant on gravitational lensing in small systems

The cosmological constant Lambda affects gravitational lensing phenomena. The contribution of Lambda to the observable angular positions of multiple images and to their amplification and time delay is here computed through a study in the weak deflection limit of the equations of motion in the Schwarzschild-de Sitter metric. Due to Lambda the unresolved images are slightly demagnified, the radius of the Einstein ring decreases and the time delay increases. The effect is however negligible for near lenses. In the case of null cosmological constant, we provide some updated results on lensing by a Schwarzschild black hole.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; v2: extended discussion on the lens equation, references added, results unchanged, in press on PR

Combined Phase SpaceCharacterization at the PEP-II IP using Single-beam and Luminous-region Measurements

We present a novel method to characterize the e{sup {+-}} phase space at the IP of the SLAC B-factory, that combines single-beam measurements with a detailed mapping of luminous-region observables. Transverse spot sizes are determined in the two rings with synchrotron-light monitors and extrapolated to the IP using measured lattice functions. The specific luminosity, which is proportional to the inverse product of the overlap IP beam sizes, is continuously monitored using radiative/Bhabha events. The spatial variation of the luminosity and of the transverse-boost distribution of the colliding e{sup {+-}}, are measured using e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} events reconstructed in the BABAR detector. The combination of these measurements provide constraints on the emittances, horizontal and vertical spot sizes, angular divergences and {beta} functions of both beams at the IP during physics data-taking. Preliminary results of this combined spot-size analysis are confronted with independent measurements of IP {beta}-functions and overlap IP beam sizes at low beam current

Interaction-Point Phase-Space Characterization using Single-Beam and Luminous-Region Measurements at PEP-II

We present an extensive experimental characterization of the e{sup {+-}} phase space at the interaction point of the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory, that combines a detailed mapping of luminous-region observables using the BABAR detector, with stored-beam measurements by accelerator techniques