Related papers: Theoretical progress in describing the B-meson lif…
The lifetimes of the Bbar0 and B- mesons are measured using a sample of about four million hadronic Z decays collected from 1991 to 1995 with the ALEPH detector at LEP. The data sample has been recently reprocessed, achieving a substantial…
Consequences of the interference between spectator amplitudes for the lifetimes and semileptonic decay fractions of B^0 and B^+ mesons are discussed. Assuming duality and constructive interference between spectator amplitudes we are able to…
The Belle and Babar experiments have measured the branching fractions for B+ -> tau+ nu and Ds+ -> mu+ nu decays. From these measurements one can extract the B+ and Ds+ decay constants, which can be compared to lattice QCD calculations. For…
We have recently seen new upper bounds for $B^0_s\to \mu^+\mu^-$, a key decay to search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Furthermore a non-vanishing decay width difference $\Delta\Gamma_s$ of the $B_s$ system has been measured. We…
A critical review of the theoretical understanding of the lifetimes of beauty hadrons is given. A model-independent analysis using the heavy-quark expansion allows for a description of the lifetime ratios tau(B-)/tau(B0) and…
Neutral $B$ meson mixing matrix elements and $B$ meson decay constants are calculated. Static approximation is used for $b$ quark and domain-wall fermion formalism is employed for light quarks. The calculations are carried out on $2+1$…
A possibility is considered of explaining the low experimental value of the ratio of the lifetimes tau(Lambda_b)/tau(B_d) by a new `centiweak' four-quark interaction, i.e with a strength on the order of 10^{-2}G_F. It is noted that the…
I discuss the heavy quark expansion for the inclusive widths of heavy-light hadrons, which predicts quite well the experimental ratios of B_q meson lifetimes. As for $\Lambda_b$, current determinations of ${\cal O}(m_b^{-3})$ contribution…
The B0 and B+ meson lifetimes have been measured in e+e- annihilation data collected in 1999 and 2000 with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies near the Upsilon(4S) resonance. Events are selected in which one B meson is fully…
In lattice QCD, obtaining properties of heavy-light mesons has been easier said than done. Focusing on the $B$ meson's decay constant, it is argued that towards the end of 1997 the last obstacles were removed, at least in the quenched…
Computational and theoretical developments in lattice QCD calculations of B and D mesons are surveyed. Several topical examples are given: new ideas for calculating the HQET parameters \bar{\Lambda} and \lambda_1; form factors needed to…
We investigate new physics models that can increase the lifetime differences in the $B_q$--$\bar{B}_q$ systems ($q = d,s$) above their standard model values. If both $B_q$ as well as $\bar{B}_q$ can decay to a final state through flavour…
Combined results on b-hadron lifetimes, b-hadron production rates, B^0_d - \bar{B^0_d} and B^0_s -\bar{B^0_s} oscillations, the decay width difference between the mass eigenstates of the B^0_s -\bar{B^0_s} system, and the values of the CKM…
We calculate perturbative renormalization constants for the \Delta B=2 four-quark operators in lattice NRQCD. Continuum operators \bar{b}\gamma_{\mu}(1-\gamma_5)q~ \bar{b}\gamma_{\mu}(1-\gamma_5)q and…
We measure the B0 lifetime tau_B0 and the B-Bbar oscillation frequency Deltam_d with a sample of approximately 14,000 exclusively reconstructed B0 -> D*- l+ nu_l signal events, selected from 23 million B-Bbar pairs recorded at the…
We compute several matrix elements of dimension-six four-fermion operators and extract their B-parameters. The calculations have been performed with the tree-level Clover action at $\beta = 6.0$. The renormalization constants and mixing…
Measurements of the effective lifetimes of $B_s$-meson decays, which only require untagged rate analyses, allow us to probe the width difference $\Delta\Gamma_s$ and the CP-violating phase $\phi_s$ of $B^0_s$-$\bar B^0_s$ mixing. We point…
We determine hadronic matrix elements relevant for the mass and width differences, $\Delta M_s$ & $\Delta \Gamma_s$ in the $B^0_s - \bar{B^0_s}$ meson system using fully unquenched lattice QCD. We employ the MILC collaboration gauge…
The lifetimes of B+ and B0 mesons have been measured using a sample of 150,000 hadronic Z0 decays collected by the SLD experiment at the SLC between 1993 and 1995. The analysis reconstructs the decay length and charge of the B meson using a…
The full treatment, both nonperturbative - through O(1/m_c^3) - and perturbative - through O(alpha_s) and BLM type O(alpha_s^2) - of the semileptonic lifetime of the D meson is given. A dedicated discussion of the numerics involved is made,…