FCNC transitions $c\to u\gamma$ and $s\to d\gamma$ in $B_c\to B_u^*\gamma$ and $B_s\to B_d^*\gamma$ decays

Abstract

We propose the $B_c\to B_u^*\gamma$ decay as the most suitable probe for the flavour changing neutral transition $c\to u\gamma$. We estimate the short and long distance contributions to this decay within the standard model and we find them to be comparable; this is in contrast to radiative decays of $D$ mesons, that are completely dominated by the long distance contributions. Since the $c\to u\gamma$ transition is very sensitive to the physics beyond the standard model, the standard model prediction $Br(B_c\to B_u^*\gamma)\sim 10^{-8}$ obtained here opens a new window for future experiments. The detection of $B_c\to B_u^*\gamma$ decay at branching ratio well above $10^{-8}$ would signal new physics. In addition we study the $s\to d\gamma$ transition in $B_s\to B_d^*\gamma$ decay and we find it to be dominated by the long distance contribution. We use the Isgur-Scora-Grinstein-Wise (ISGW) constituent quark model for the calculation of these decays.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, corrected typos, to be published in Phys. Rev. D 5