No Arabic abstract
We propose a method to non-perturbatively calculate the forward-scattering matrix elements relevant to inclusive semi-leptonic B meson decays. Corresponding hadronic structure functions at unphysical kinematics are accessible through lattice QCD calculation of four-point correlation functions. The unphysical kinematical point may be reached by analytic continuation from the physical differential decay rate. A numerical test is performed for the B_s -> X_c l nu mode in the zero-recoil limit. We use lattice ensembles generated with 2+1 dynamical quark flavors. The valence charm quark mass is tuned to its physical value, while the bottom quark mass is varied in the range (1.56-2.44)m_c. From the numerical results we can identify the contributions of the ground state D_s^(*) meson as well as those of excited states or continuum states.
We develop a method to compute inclusive semi-leptonic decay rate of hadrons fully non-perturbatively using lattice QCD simulations. The sum over all possible final states is achieved by a calculation of the forward-scattering matrix elements on the lattice, and the phase-space integral is evaluated using their dependence on the time separation between two inserted currents. We perform a pilot lattice computation for the B_s -> X_c l nu decay with an unphysical bottom quark mass and compare the results with the corresponding OPE calculation. The method to treat the inclusive processes on the lattice can be applied to other processes, such as the lepton-nucleon inelastic scattering.
The leading electromagnetic (e.m.) and strong isospin-breaking corrections to the $pi^+ to mu^+ u[gamma]$ and $K^+ to mu^+ u[gamma]$ leptonic decay rates are evaluated for the first time on the lattice. The results are obtained using gauge ensembles produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ dynamical quarks. The relative leading-order e.m.~and strong isospin-breaking corrections to the decay rates are 1.53(19)% for $pi_{mu 2}$ decays and 0.24(10)% for $K_{mu 2}$ decays. Using the experimental values of the $pi_{mu 2}$ and $K_{mu 2}$ decay rates and updated lattice QCD results for the pion and kaon decay constants in isosymmetric QCD, we find that the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $ | V_{us}| = 0.22538(46)$, reducing by a factor of about $1.8$ the corresponding uncertainty in the Particle Data Group review. Our calculation of $|V_{us}|$ allows also an accurate determination of the first-row CKM unitarity relation $| V_{ud}|^2 + | V_{us}|^2 + | V_{ub}|^2 = 0.99988(46)$. Theoretical developments in this paper include a detailed discussion of how QCD can be defined in the full QCD+QED theory and an improved renormalisation procedure in which the bare lattice operators are renormalised non-perturbatively into the (modified) Regularization Independent Momentum subtraction scheme and subsequently matched perturbatively at $O(alpha_{em}alpha_s(M_W))$ into the W-regularisation scheme appropriate for these calculations.
We calculate the leptonic decay constants of heavy-light pseudoscalar mesons with charm and bottom quarks in lattice quantum chromodynamics on four-flavor QCD gauge-field configurations with dynamical $u$, $d$, $s$, and $c$ quarks. We analyze over twenty isospin-symmetric ensembles with six lattice spacings down to $aapprox 0.03$~fm and several values of the light-quark mass down to the physical value $frac{1}{2}(m_u+m_d)$. We employ the highly-improved staggered-quark (HISQ) action for the sea and valence quarks; on the finest lattice spacings, discretization errors are sufficiently small that we can calculate the $B$-meson decay constants with the HISQ action for the first time directly at the physical $b$-quark mass. We obtain the most precise determinations to-date of the $D$- and $B$-meson decay constants and their ratios, $f_{D^+} = 212.7(0.6)$~MeV, $f_{D_s} = 249.9(0.4)$~MeV, $f_{D_s}/f_{D^+} = 1.1749(16)$, $f_{B^+} = 189.4 (1.4)$~MeV, $f_{B_s} = 230.7(1.3)$~MeV, $f_{B_s}/f_{B^+} = 1.2180(47)$, where the errors include statistical and all systematic uncertainties. Our results for the $B$-meson decay constants are three times more precise than the previous best lattice-QCD calculations, and bring the QCD errors in the Standard-Model predictions for the rare leptonic decays $overline{mathcal{B}}(B_s to mu^+mu^-) = 3.64(11) times 10^{-9}$, $overline{mathcal{B}}(B^0 to mu^+mu^-) = 1.00(3) times 10^{-10}$, and $overline{mathcal{B}}(B^0 to mu^+mu^-)/overline{mathcal{B}}(B_s to mu^+mu^-) = 0.0273(9)$ to well below other sources of uncertainty. As a byproduct of our analysis, we also update our previously published results for the light-quark-mass ratios and the scale-setting quantities $f_{p4s}$, $M_{p4s}$, and $R_{p4s}$. We obtain the most precise lattice-QCD determination to date of the ratio $f_{K^+}/f_{pi^+} = 1.1950(^{+16}_{-23})$~MeV.
We present a new determination of the B and B_s meson decay constants using NRQCD b-quarks, HISQ light and strange valence quarks and the MILC collaboration N_f=2+1 lattices. The new calculations improve on HPQCDs earlier work with NRQCD b-quarks by replacing AsqTad with HISQ valence quarks, by including a more chiral MILC fine ensemble in the analysis, and by employing better tuned quark masses and overall scale. We find f_B = 0.191(9)GeV, f_{B_s} = 0.228(10)GeV and f_{B_s}/f_B = 1.188(18). Combining the new value for f_{B_s}/f_B with a recent very precise determination of the B_s meson decay constant based on HISQ b-quarks, f_{B_s} = 0.225(4)GeV, leads to f_B = 0.189(4)GeV. With errors of just 2.1% this represents the most precise f_B available today.
We describe a recent lattice-QCD calculation of the leptonic decay constants of heavy-light pseudoscalar mesons containing charm and bottom quarks and of the masses of the up, down, strange, charm, and bottom quarks. Results for these quantities are of the highest precision to date. Calculations use 24 isospin-symmetric ensembles of gauge-field configurations with six different lattice spacings as small as approximately 0.03 fm and several values of the light quark masses down to physical values of the average up- and down-sea-quark masses. We use the highly-improved staggered quark (HISQ) formulation for valence and sea quarks, including the bottom quark. The analysis employs heavy-quark effective theory (HQET). A novel HQET method is used in the determination of the quark masses.