No Arabic abstract
We present a global analysis of leptonic and semileptonic kaon decay data, including all recent results published by the BNL-E865, KLOE, KTeV, ISTRA+ and NA48 experiments. This analysis, in conjunction with precise lattice calculations of the hadronic matrix elements now available, leads to a very precise determination of |Vus| and allows us to perform several stringent tests of the Standard Model.
We present a global analysis of leptonic and semileptonic kaon decays data, including all recent results by BNL-E865, KLOE, KTeV, ISTRA+, and NA48. Experimental results are critically reviewed and combined, taking into account theoretical (both analytical and numerical) constraints on the semileptonic kaon form factors. This analysis leads to a very accurate determination of Vus and allows us to perform several stringent tests of the Standard Model.
We discuss the recent progress in the study of semileptonic kaon and pion decays, including new experimental results, improved electroweak radiative corrections, form factor calculations and isospin-breaking effects. As a result, we obtain $|V_{us}|=0.22309(40)(39)(3)$ from kaon semileptonic decays and $|V_{us}/V_{ud}|=0.22908(66)(41)(40)(2)(1)$ from the ratio between the kaon and pion semileptonic decay rates. We report an apparent violation of the top-row Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix unitarity at a $3.2sim 5.6sigma$ level, and a discrepancy at a $2.2sigma$ level between the value of $|V_{us}/V_{ud}|$ determined from the vector and axial charged weak interactions. Prospects for future improvements in those comparative precision tests involving $|V_{ud}|$, $|V_{us}|$ and their implications for physics beyond the Standard Model are described.
This review presents the analysis of leptonic and semileptonic kaon decays data done by the FlaviaNet Kaon Working group, as described in FlaviaNet Note of October 2008. Data include all recent results by BNL-E865, KLOE, KTeV, ISTRA+, and NA48. Experimental results are critically reviewed and combined, taking into account theoretical (both analytical and numerical) constraints on the semileptonic kaon form factors. We report on a very accurate determination of Vus as well as on many other tests of the SM which can be performed with leptonic and semileptonic kaon decays.
Inclusive semileptonic decays of beauty baryons are studied using the heavy quark expansion to ${cal O}(1/m_b^3)$, at leading order in $alpha_s$. The case of a polarized decaying baryon is examined, with reference to $Lambda_b$. An extension of the Standard Model effective Hamiltonian inducing $b to U ell {bar u}_ ell$ transitions ($U=u,,c$ and $ell=e,,mu,,tau$) is considered, which comprises the full set of D=6 semileptonic operators with left-handed neutrinos. The effects of the new operators in several observables are described.
We consider leptonic $B^-to ell^- bar u_ell$ and semileptonic $bar B to pi ell^- bar u_ell$, $bar B to rho ell^- bar u_ell$ decays and present a strategy to determine short-distance coefficients of New-Physics operators and the CKM element $|V_{ub}|$. As the leptonic channels play a central role, we illustrate this method for (pseudo)-scalar operators which may lift the helicity suppression of the corresponding transition amplitudes arising in the Standard Model. Utilising a new result by the Belle collaboration for the branching ratio of $B^-to mu^- bar u_mu$, we explore theoretically clean constraints and correlations between New Physics coefficients for leptonic final states with $mu$ and $tau$ leptons. In order to obtain stronger bounds and to extract $|V_{ub}|$, we employ semileptonic $bar B to pi ell^- bar u_ell$ and $bar B to rho ell^- bar u_ell$ decays as an additional ingredient, involving hadronic form factors which are determined through QCD sum rule and lattice calculations. In addition to a detailed analysis of the constraints on the New Physics contributions following from current data, we make predictions for yet unmeasured decay observables, compare them with experimental constraints and discuss the impact of CP-violating phases of the New-Physics coefficients.