Hot Topics from the BABAR Experiment

With a sample of about 384 million BBbar pairs recorded with the BABAR detector, we search for the flavor-changing charged current transition B+ -> \tau\nu and perform an amplitude analysis of the effective flavor-changing neutral current transition B+ -> \phi(1020)K*(892)+. We also extend our search for other K* final states in the decay B0 -> phi(1020)K*0 with a large K*0 -> K+pi- invariant mass. Two samples of events with one reconstructed hadronic B decay or one reconstructed semileptonic B decay are selected, and in the recoil a search for B+ -> \tau\nu is performed. We find a 2.6 sigma (3.2 sigma not including expected background uncertainty) excess in data which can be converted to a preliminary branching fraction central value of BR(B+ -> \tau\nu ) = (1.20 +0.40-0.38 +0.29-0.30 +-0.22) 10^-4. With the decay B+- -> \phi(1020)K*(892)+-, twelve parameters are measured, where our measurements of f_L=0.49+-0.05+-0.03, f_perp=0.21+-0.05+-0.02, and the strong phases point to the presence of a substantial helicity-plus amplitude from a presently unknown source.Comment: 14 pages, 33 postscript figures, proceedings of the 5th Flavor Physics And CP Violation Conference (FPCP 2007) C07/05/1

Testing Explanations of the B→ϕK∗B\to\phi K^* Polarization Puzzle

$B\to\phi K^*$ (\btos) is three separate decays, one for each polarization of the final-state vector mesons (one longitudinal, two transverse). It is observed that the fraction of transverse decays, \fT, and the fraction of longitudinal decays, \fL, are roughly equal: \fTfL \simeq 1, in opposition to the naive expectation that \fT \ll \fL. If one requires a single explanation of all polarization puzzles, two possibilities remain within the standard model: penguin annihilation and rescattering. In this paper we examine the predictions of these two explanations for \fTfL in \btod decays. In $B \to \rho\rho$ decays, only \bd \to \rho^0\rho^0 can possibly exhibit a large \fTfL. In B decays related by U-spin, we find two promising possibilities: (i) $B^+ \to K^{*0} \rho^+$ (\btos) and B^+ \to \Kbar^{*0} K^{*+} (\btod) and (ii) \bs \to K^{*0} \Kbar^{*0} (\btos) and \bd \to \Kbar^{*0} K^{*0} (\btod). The measurement of \fTfL in these pairs of decays will allow us to test penguin annihilation and rescattering. Finally, it is possible to distinguish penguin annihilation from rescattering by performing a time-dependent angular analysis of \bd \to \Kbar^{*0} K^{*0}.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Added reference and PACS numbers. To appear in PR

Transition form factors of B decays into p-wave axial-vector mesons in the perturbative QCD approach

The $B_{u,d,s}\to V,A$ form factors are studied in perturbative QCD approach ($V,A$ denote a vector meson and two kinds of p-wave axial-vector mesons: $^3P_1$ and $^1P_1$ states, respectively.). The form factors are directly studied in the large recoiling region and extrapolated to the whole kinematic region within the dipole parametrization. Adopting decay constants with different signs for the two kinds of axial-vectors, we find that the two kinds of $B\to A$ form factors have the same sign. The two strange mesons $K_{1A}$ and $K_{1B}$ mix with each other via the SU(3) symmetry breaking effect. In order to reduce the ambiguities in the mixing angle between $K_{1A}$ and $K_{1B}$, we propose a model-independent way that utilizes the B decay data. Most of the branching fractions of the semilteptonic $B\to Al\bar \nu_l$ decays are of the order $10^{-4}$, which still need experimental tests in the on-going and forthcoming experiments.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

Local Alignment of the BABAR Silicon Vertex Tracking Detector

The BABAR Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) is a five-layer double-sided silicon detector designed to provide precise measurements of the position and direction of primary tracks, and to fully reconstruct low-momentum tracks produced in e+e- collisions at the PEP-II asymmetric collider at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. This paper describes the design, implementation, performance, and validation of the local alignment procedure used to determine the relative positions and orientations of the 340 SVT wafers. This procedure uses a tuned mix of in-situ experimental data and complementary lab-bench measurements to control systematic distortions. Wafer positions and orientations are determined by minimizing a chisquared computed using these data for each wafer individually, iterating to account for between-wafer correlations. A correction for aplanar distortions of the silicon wafers is measured and applied. The net effect of residual mis-alignments on relevant physical variables is evaluated in special control samples. The BABAR data-sample collected between November 1999 and April 2008 is used in the study of the SVT stability.Comment: 21 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.

Study of Polarization in B -> VT Decays

In this paper, we examine B -> VT decays (V is a vector and T is a tensor meson), whose final-state particles can have transverse or longitudinal polarization. Measurements have been made of B -> \phi K_2^*, and it is found that fT/fL is small, where fT (fL) is the fraction of transverse (longitudinal) decays. We find that the standard model (SM) naively predicts that fT/fL << 1. The two extensions of the naive SM which have been proposed to explain the large fT/fL in B -> \phi K^* -- penguin annihilation and rescattering -- make no firm predictions for the polarization in B -> \phi K_2^*. The two new-physics scenarios, which explain the data in B -> \pi K and the \phi (\rho) K^* polarization measurements, can reproduce the fT/fL data in B -> \phi K_2^* only if the B -> T form factors obey a certain hierarchy. Finally, we present the general angular analysis which can be used to get helicity information using two- and three-body decays.Comment: 15 pages, latex, 3 figures (enclosed), several changes made, conclusions unchanged, publication info adde

Internal alignement of the BABAR silicon vertex tracking detector

The BABAR Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT ) is a five-layer double-sided silicon detector designed to provide precise measurements of the position and direction of primary tracks, and to fully reconstruct low-momentum tracks produced in e+e¡ collisions at the PEP-II asymmetric collider at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. This paper describes the design, implementation, performance and validation of the local alignment procedure used to determine the relative positions and orientations of the 340 Silicon Vertex Trackerwafers. This procedure uses a tuned mix of lab-bench measurements and complementary in-situ experimental data to control systematic distortions. Wafer positions and orientations are determined by minimizing a Â2 computed using these data for each wafer individually, iterating to account for between-wafer correlations. A correction for aplanar distortions of the silicon wafers is measured and applied. The net effect of residual mis-alignments on relevant physical variables evaluated in special control samples is presented