Related papers: Helicity conservation and factorization-suppressed…
A bound on the angle gamma of the unitarity triangle is derived using experimental information on the CP-averaged branching ratios for the rare decays B^+- -> pi^+- K^0 and B^+- -> pi^0 K^+-. The theoretical description is cleaner than the…
We present preliminary measurements of the CP asymmetries and branching fractions for B -> pi pi and B -> K pi decays. A total of 347 million BBbar events collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at SLAC…
The decays B -> D^{**} pi, where D^{**} is a narrow p-wave charm resonance, are investigated in the context of a generalized factorization hypothesis, including the leading nonfactorizable corrections. The decay rates for these processes…
We present an {\it algebraic} isospin approach towards a more straightforward and model-independent determination of the weak phase $\alpha$ (or $\phi_2$) and QCD penguin pollution in $B\to \pi\pi$ decays. The world averages of current…
We provide a comprehensive test of factorization in the heavy-heavy $B$ decays motivated by the recent experimental data from BELLE and BABAR collaborations. The penguin effects are not negligible in the B decays with two pseudoscalar…
The current wealth of charmless B decay data may suggest the presence of final state rescattering. In a factorized amplitude approach, better fits are found by incorporating two SU(3) rescattering phase differences, giving delta ~ 65 degree…
The Bc -> BP,BV decays are studied with the QCD factorization approach (where P and V denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively). Considering the contributions of both current-current and penguin operators, the amplitudes of…
Hadronic charmless B decays to scalar mesons are studied within the framework of QCD factorization (QCDF). Considering two different scenarios for scalar mesons above 1 GeV, we find that the data favor the scenario in which the scalars…
It is argued that, in the presence of soft final-state interactions, the diagrammatic amplitude approach adopted in many analyses of hadronic B decays into light mesons can be misleading when used to deduce the unimportance of certain decay…
We present a method of determining the CKM-angle $\alpha$ by performing simultaneous measurements of the mixing-induced CP asymmetries of the decays $B_d\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $B_d\to K^0\bar K^0$. The accuracy of our approach is limited by…
It is commonly believed that a careful investigation of the subleading terms is crucial for a better understanding of the $QCD$ factorization in charmless B decays. In this work the penguin-dominated $B\to K\pi$ decays are discussed…
The decays $B_d^0\rightarrow D_d^-D_d^+$ and $B_s^0\rightarrow D_s^-D_s^+$ probe the CP-violating mixing phases $\phi_d$ and $\phi_s$, respectively. The theoretical uncertainty of the corresponding determinations is limited by contributions…
Various new measurements in charmless $B_{u,d,s}\to PP$ modes, where $P$ is a low lying pseudoscalar meson, are reported by Belle and LHCb. These include the rates of $B^0\to\pi^0\pi^0$, $\eta\pi^0$, $B_s\to\eta'\eta'$, $B^0\to K^+K^-$ and…
We present a preliminary measurement of the branching fraction of the exclusive penguin decay B^0 -> K^*0 gamma using (8.6+/-0.3) x 10^6 B-anti-B decays BF(B^0 -> K^*0 gamma) = (5.2+/-0.82 (stat.) +/- 0.47 (sys.)) x 10^-5. In addition we…
We present the studies of the decays $B\to a_1(1260) \pi$ and $a_1(1260) K$ within the framework of QCD factorization. Due to the G-parity, unlike the vector meson, the chiral-odd two-parton light-cone distribution amplitudes of the $a_1$…
We give an overview of various determinations of $\gamma/\phi_3$ with the help of $B_s$ decays into charmed final states, distinguishing between transitions with tree and penguin contributions and pure tree decays. In the corresponding…
In the absence of the QCD penguin contributions a measurement of the time-dependent asymmetry in the decay $B^0(t)\to \pi^+\pi^-$ gives directly the weak angle $\alpha$. Several bounds have been proposed in the literature on the magnitude…
The decays $B_d\to \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $B_s\to K^+ K^-$ are related to each other by interchanging all down and strange quarks, i.e. through the $U$-spin flavour symmetry of strong interactions. A completely general parametrization of the…
Factorizable amplitudes in B decays to light vector meson pairs give a longitudinal polarization satisfying 1- f_L =O(1/m_b^2). This remains formally true when non-factorizable graphs are included in QCD factorization, and is numerically…
The decays $B_d\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $B_s\to K^+K^-$ provide an interesting strategy to extract the CKM angle $\gamma$ at ``second-generation'' $B$-physics experiments of the LHC era. A variant for ``first-generation'' experiments can be…