NEW PHYSICS IN B DECAYS

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics has withstood thus far every attempt by experimentalists to show that it does not describe data. We discuss the SM in some detail, focusing on the mechanism of fermion mixing, which represents one of its most intriguing aspect. We discuss how this mechanism can be tested in b-quark decays, and how b decays can be used to extract information on physics beyond the SM. We review experimental techniques in b physics, focusing on recent results and highlighting future prospects. Particular attention is devoted to recent results from b decays into a hadron, a lepton and an anti-lepton, that show discrepancies with the SM predictions — the so-called B-physics anomalies — whose statistical significance has been increasing steadily. We discuss these experiments in a detailed manner, and also provide theoretical interpretation of these results in terms of physics beyond the SM.Contents:

• Introduction
• Traditional New Physics Searches
• Current Anomalies: Experimental Evidence
• Theoretical Models Addressing the Current Anomalies
• Searches for Lepton Flavor Violation and Lepton Number Violation
• Conclusions
• Appendices:
  • The SM Lagrangian
  • Flavor Symmetries
  • Effective b → sℓ⁺ℓ^- Operators
  • Simplified Expressions for Selected Observables

Readership: Advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and beyond, who work in either experimental or theoretical High Energy Physics.B Anomalies;Standard Model;Flavor Physics;Hadron Collisions;Weak Decays;B Quark;High Energy;SMEFT0Key Features:

• This book provides a comprehensive explanation of the Standard Model (SM) theory and effective theory methods to analyze physics beyond the SM, with special focus on flavour physics and b decays
• The book illustrates the major experimental challenges in the measurements described, and it shows how planned upgrades can improve the current level of understanding of these decays
• This book is an essential tool, for both theorists and experimentalists, to better understand the phenomena of the B-physics anomalies, which represents one of the most active and exciting frontiers in particle physics