Lattice Input on the Inclusive $\tau$ Decay $V_{us}$ Puzzle

Recent analyses of flavor-breaking hadronic-$\tau$-decay-based sum rules produce values of $\vert V_{us}\vert$ $\sim 3\sigma$ low compared to 3-family unitarity expectations. An unresolved systematic issue is the significant variation in $\vert V_{us}\vert$ produced by different prescriptions for treating the slowly converging $D=2$ OPE series. We investigate the reliability of these prescriptions using lattice data for various flavor-breaking correlators and show the fixed-scale prescription is clearly preferred. Preliminary updates of the conventional $\tau$-based, and related mixed $\tau$-electroproduction-data-based, sum rule analyses incorporating B-factory results for low-multiplicity strange $\tau$ decay mode distributions are then performed. Use of the preferred FOPT $D=2$ OPE prescription is shown to significantly reduce the discrepancy between 3-family unitarity expectations and the sum rule results.