B Decays in the Upsilon Expansion

Theoretical predictions for B decay rates are rewritten in terms of the Upsilon meson mass instead of the b quark mass, using a modified perturbation expansion. The theoretical consistency is shown both at low and high orders. This method improves the behavior of the perturbation series for inclusive and exclusive decay rates, and the largest theoretical error in the predictions coming from the uncertainty in the quark mass is eliminated. Applications to the determination of CKM matrix elements, moments of inclusive decay distributions, and the B -> X_s \gamma photon spectrum are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, Talk given at the International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics (EPS-HEP'99), 15-21 July 1999, Tampere, Finlan

Theoretical Developments in Inclusive B Decays

Some recent theoretical work on inclusive B decays relevant for the model independent determination of |V_{ub}| and |V_{cb}| is summarized. The theoretical predictions and their reliability for several differential decay distributions in B -> X_{c,u}e nu and B -> X_s gamma are reviewed. These can be used to determine certain important HQET matrix elements. The upsilon expansion and ways of testing it are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, Invited talk at the DPF'99 Conference, Jan. 5-9, 1999, Los Angeles, C

D0-D0bar Mixing

The main challenge in the Standard Model calculation of the mass and width difference in $D^0 - \bar D^0$ mixing is to estimate the size of SU(3) breaking. We prove that mixing occurs in the Standard Model only at second order in SU(3) violation. We calculate SU(3) breaking due to phase space effects, and find that it can naturally give rise to a width difference $\Delta\Gamma / 2\Gamma \sim 1$, potentially reducing the sensitivity of D mixing to new physics.Comment: 9 pages; Talk given at the XXXVIIth Rencontres de Moriond, Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, Les Arcs, March 9-16 2002; and at the 9th International Symposium on Heavy Flavor Physics, Pasadena, California, September 10-13 200

TASI Lectures on Flavor Physics

These notes overlap with lectures given at the TASI summer schools in 2014 and 2011, as well as at the European School of High Energy Physics in 2013. This is primarily an attempt at transcribing my hand-written notes, with emphasis on topics and ideas discussed in the lectures. It is not a comprehensive introduction or review of the field, nor does it include a complete list of references. I hope, however, that some may find it useful to better understand the reasons for excitement about recent progress and future opportunities in flavor physics.Comment: 42 pages, few typos corrected and references added, published veriso