Journal of High Energy Physics (Oct 2021)

Probing new physics in class-I B-meson decays into heavy-light final states

  • Fang-Min Cai,
  • Wei-Jun Deng,
  • Xin-Qiang Li,
  • Ya-Dong Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2021)235
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2021, no. 10
pp. 1 – 49

Abstract

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Abstract With updated experimental data and improved theoretical calculations, several significant deviations are being observed between the Standard Model predictions and the experimental measurements of the branching ratios of B ¯ s 0 → D s ∗ + L − $$ {\overline{B}}_{(s)}^0\to {D}_{(s)}^{\left(\ast \right)+}{L}^{-} $$ decays, where L is a light meson from the set {π, ρ, K (∗)}. Especially for the two channels B ¯ 0 → D + K − $$ {\overline{B}}^0\to {D}^{+}{K}^{-} $$ and B ¯ s 0 → D s + π − $$ {\overline{B}}_s^0\to {D}_s^{+}{\pi}^{-} $$ , both of which are free of the weak annihilation contribution, the deviations observed can even reach 4–5σ. Here we exploit possible new-physics effects in these class-I non-leptonic B-meson decays within the framework of QCD factorization. Firstly, we perform a model-independent analysis of the effects from twenty linearly independent four-quark operators that can contribute, either directly or through operator mixing, to the quark-level b → c u ¯ d s $$ c\overline{u}d(s) $$ transitions. It is found that, under the combined constraints from the current experimental data, the deviations observed could be well explained at the 1σ level by the new-physics four-quark operators with γ μ (1 − γ 5) ⨂ γ μ (1 − γ 5) structure, and also at the 2σ level by the operators with (1 + γ 5) ⨂ (1 − γ 5) and (1 + γ 5) ⨂ (1 + γ 5) structures. However, the new-physics four-quark operators with other Dirac structures fail to provide a consistent interpretation, even at the 2σ level. Then, as two specific examples of model-dependent considerations, we discuss the case where the new-physics four-quark operators are generated by either a colorless charged gauge boson or a colorless charged scalar, with their masses fixed both at the 1 TeV. Constraints on the effective coefficients describing the couplings of these mediators to the relevant quarks are obtained by fitting to the current experimental data.

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