We perform a measurement of the tau -> l gamma nu anti-nu (l = e, mu) branching fractions for a minimum photon energy of 10 MeV in the tau rest frame, using 431fb^-1 of e^+e^- collisions collected at the center-of-mass energy of the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II storage rings. We find B(tau -> mu gamma nu anti-nu ) = (3.69pm0.03pm0.10)x10^-3, and B(tau -> e gamma nu anti-nu ) = (1.847pm0.015pm0.052)x10^-2, where the first quoted error is statistical, and the second is systematic. These results are substantially more precise than previous measurements.
We present recent results on leptonic B decays using data collected by the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. We report searches for the B -> tau nu decay, based on two statistically independent data samples.
We will present the most recent results on leptonic B decays $B^{\pm(0)} \to K^{* \pm (0)} ν\barν$ and $B^{\pm} \to μ^{\pm} ν$, based on the data collected by the BaBar detector at PEP-II, an asymmetric $e^+ e^-$ collider at the center of mass energy of the $Υ(4S)$ resonance .
We present selected new results on leptonic B meson decays from the BaBar experiment: searches for the decays B0->l+l-, B+->l+nu and B0->l+tau-, and B->Knunubar, where l=e or mu. The decay modes imply also their charge conjugations. We observe no evidence for these decays and set upper limits on their branching fractions.
New preliminary BaBar results for rare leptonic decays $B^- \to K^-ν\barν$ and $B^0\to \ell^+\ell^-$ are reported. Using data collected at the $\FourS$ with the BaBar detector, no evidence for a signal was found yielding the corresponding upper limits at the 90% confidence level: ${\cal B}(B^-\to K^-ν\barν)< 9.4 \times 10^{-5}$ for $50.7 \invfb $, ${\cal B}(\bee)< \eeul$, ${\cal B}(\bmm) < \mmul$ and ${\cal B}(\bem) < \emul$ using $54.4 \invfb $.
Electro-weak penguin and leptonic decays provide an indirect probe for physics beyond the Standard Model and contribute to the determination of Standard Model parameters. Copious quantities of B mesons produced at the B-Factories permit precision measurements of the electro-weak penguin decays and searches for leptonic decays. We review the current experimental status of b -> s(d) gamma, B^0 -> D^{*0} gamma, b -> s l^+ l^- and finally B->tau nu decays at BaBar.
Recent BaBar results on rare B decays involving flavour-changing neutral currents or purely leptonic final states are presented. New measurements of the CP asymmetries in B -> K* gamma, B -> K*2(1430) gamma, and b -> s gamma are reported, as well as a new measurement of the B -> K* gamma branching fraction. Also reported are updated limits on B -> mu nu and recent measurements of B -> K* l+ l- and b -> s l+ l-. The data sample comprises 123 10^6 Y4S -> B Bbar decays collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II e+e- storage ring.
Recent BABAR and Belle results on rare B decays involving photons or lepton pairs are reviewed. New preliminary limits from both experiments for B-->rho gamma and B-->omega gamma, and from BABAR for B --> K nu nu and B --> tau nu are presented. Also summarized from the past year are Belle measurements of B-->Xs l+l- and B0-->K2(1430) gamma, preliminary BABAR measurements of B-->Xs gamma, and preliminary results from BABAR and Belle on B-->K(*)l+l-. No significant deviations from Standard Model predictions have yet been found.
We present a study for the measurement of of radiative decays, tau -> l gamma nu nu, l=e, mu, and tau -> pi gamma nu using 500 fb-1 of electron-positron annihilations recorded by the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B-factory.
Searches for lepton flavor violating tau -> l gamma, tau -> lll and tau -> lhh decays at the BaBar experiment are presented. Upper limits on the branching ratios are obtained at the level of 10^{-7} at 90% confidence level.
The BaBar collaboration has accumulated over 400 million tau-pairs which can be used to study charged leptonic and hadronic weak currents to unprecedented precision. This note presents results on lepton universality, measurements of |V_us|, and searches for tau decays which violate lepton flavour conservation, or tau decays that proceed through a suppressed second class current.
Selected results from tau analyses performed using the BaBar detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are presented. A precise measurement of the tau mass and the tau{+} tau{-} mass difference is undertaken using the hadronic decay mode tau- --> pi+ pi- pi- nu. In addition an investigation into the strange decay modes tau- --> K0S pi- pi0 nu and tau- --> K0S pi- nu is also presented, including a fit to the tau- --> K0S pi-nu invariant mass spectrum. Precise values for the Mass and Width of the K*(892) are obtained.
A review of recent results concerning decays of charmed mesons, charmed baryons and $τ$ leptons for the Belle and BaBar Experiments is given. The review was presented at the 43$^{rd}$ Rencontres de Moriond (QCD and High Energy Interactions), LaThuile, March 8-15, 2008.
We present the results of a search for the decay B0 --> tau+tau- in a data sample of (232 +- 3) x 10^6 Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar decays using the BABAR detector. Certain extensions of the Standard Model predict measurable levels of this otherwise rare decay. We reconstruct fully one neutral B meson and seek evidence for the signal decay in the rest of the event. We find no evidence for signal events and obtain B(B0 --> tau+tau-) < 4.1 x 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.
We present the most recent searches for lepton-flavor-violating tau decays in BaBar. We find no evidence of tau decaying to three charged leptons or to a charged lepton and a neutral meson (KS, rho, phi, K*0, anti-K*0), and set upper limits on the corresponding branching fractions between 1.8 and 19 times 10-8 at 90% confidence level.
Using data collected with the BaBar detector at PEP-II at SLAC, we report on several tau lepton measurements that are used to determine the modulus of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vus, and to check the Standard Model predictions of lepton universality and CPT conservation.
We perform a measurement of the branching fractions for tau -> l gamma nu anti-nu (l= e, mu) decays for a minimum photon energy of 10 MeV in the tau rest frame using 430 fb^-1 of e^+ e^- collisions collected at the center-of-mass energy of the Upsilon(4S) resonance around 10.58GeV with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II storage rings. We find B(tau -> mu gamma nu nu) = (3.69pm0.03pm0.10)x10^-3 and B(tau -> e gamma nu anti-nu) = (1.847pm0.015pm0.052)x10^-2 where the first quoted error is statistical and the second is systematic. These results represent a substantial improvement with respect to ex…
A preliminary measurement of the branching fraction B(tau- --> K0 pi- nu) is made using 384.6 fb-1 of e+e- collision data provided by the PEP-II collider, operating primarily at sqrt(s)=10.58 GeV, and recorded using the BaBar detector. From this we measure: B(tau- --> K0 pi- nu) = (0.840 +/- 0.004 (stat) +/- 0.023 (syst)) %. This result is the most precise measurement to date and is consistent with the world average.
We report some new results on tau decays obtained by the BaBar collaboration using 468 inverse femtobarn of electron-positron collisions recorded at the PEP-II asymmetric collider at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. First We will show the results for the branching fractions for the decay of the tau to a charged hadron and two neutral kaons and the branching fractions for high-multiplicity decays with 3 or 5 charged particles in the final state, either pions or kaons. We will then show the results for the search of second class hadronic current decays involving eta-prime mesons and the invar…
We report on analyses of tau lepton decays $τ^- \to ηK^- ν_τ$ and $τ^- \to ηπ^- ν_τ$, with $η\to π^+ π^- π^0$, using 470 fb$^{-1}$ of data from the Babar experiment at PEP-II, collected at center-of-mass energies at and near the $Υ(4S)$ resonance. We measure the branching fraction for the $τ^- \to ηK^- ν_τ$ decay mode, $\Br(τ^- \to ηK^- ν_τ) = (1.42\pm0.11\text{(stat)}\pm0.07\text{(syst)})\times10^{-4}$, and report a 95% confidence level upper limit for the second-class current process $τ^- \to ηπ^- ν_τ$, $\Br(τ^- \to ηπ^- ν_τ) < 9.9\times10^{-5}$.
We present a search for the decay B+ -> tau+ nu using 288 inverse femtobarns of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the BaBar detector at the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory. A sample of events with one reconstructed semileptonic B decay (B- -> D0 l- nu X) is selected, and in the recoil a search for the signal decay mode is performed. The tau is identified in four channels. We measure a branching fraction of BF(B+ -> tau+ nu) = (0.88+0.68 -0.67(stat.) +- 0.11(syst.)) x 10^{-4} and extract an upper limit on the branching fraction, at the 90% confdence level, of 1.8 x 10^{-4}.
We present a measurement of the total width, Gamma_tot, and mass, M, of the eta_c meson with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-factory at SLAC. The results based on a data sample of 88 fb^-1 are Gamma_tot = (33.3 +- 2.5(stat.) +- 0.8(sys.))MeV and M = (2983.3 +- 1.2 +- 1.8) MeV. An enhancement observed around 3.63 GeV can be interpreted as an evidence for the eta_c(2S) state. In addition a preliminary measurement of the tau lepton lifetime using 30.2 fb^-1 is described. The measured tau lifetime is: (290.8 +- 1.5(stat.) +- 1.6(syst.))fs.
We present measurements of the branching fractions of 3-prong and 5-prong tau decay modes using a sample of 430 million tau lepton pairs, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 468 fb-1, collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy e+e- storage rings. The τ- --> (3π)- ην, τ- --> (3π)- ων, and τ- --> π- f_1(1285)ν, branching fractions are presented as well as a new limit on the branching fraction of the isospin-forbidden, second-class current, τ- --> π-η'(958)ν, decay. We find no evidence for charged kaons in these decay modes and place the first upper limits on their…
We report on measurements of branching fractions for several hadronic tau decays to final states with kaons, which can be used to determine the strange quark mass and the element |V_us| of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark-mixing matrix. The results are obtained from data collected with the BaBar and Belle detectors at the PEP-II and KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- colliders at SLAC and KEK, respectively, both operating at center-of-mass energies near the Y(4S) resonance.
We review recent results from the BABAR and Belle experiments on rare electroweak B-meson decays, with emphasis on those occurring through flavor changing neutral current interactions of the type b -> s l l. The recent results include measurements of the isospin asymmetry and lepton forward-backward asymmetry in B -> K* l+ l- decays from BABAR, a search for B -> pi l+ l- from Belle, and searches for B \to K(*) nu anti-nu from BABAR. We also briefly review the status of B0 -> l+ l- and B+ -> l+ nu searches.
Recent results on tau physics from BaBar are reviewed. Limits on lepton-flavor violation in the tau decay process tau->lll are presented based on 91.6 fb^1 of data. In all six decay modes considered, the numbers of events found in data are compatible with the background expectations, and upper limits on the branching fractions are set in the range (1-3) 10^-7 at 90% CL. A preliminary measurement of the five prong branching fraction based on 110.7 fb^-1 of data is presented with the result B(tau- -> 3h- 2h+ nu) = (8.52+/-0.09+/-0.40) 10^-4. A preliminary measurement of the tau lifetime based on…
We present the recent BaBar searches for the leptonic decay B+ --> tau+ nu and for the rare decay B --> K(*) nu nubar, using a data sample of about 470 x 10^6 BB pairs. Both searches use a technique in which one B meson is hadronically reconstructed before searching for evidence of the signal decay in the rest of the event. BaBar measures B(B+ --> tau+ nu) = (1.83 ^{+0.53}_{-0.49} +/- 0.24) x 10^{-4}, and preliminary upper limits at 90% confidence level of B(B --> K nu nubar) < 3.2 x 10^{-5} and B(B --> K* nu nubar) < 7.9 x 10^{-5}. We also discuss the expected observations and precision impro…
The BaBar experiment recorded 471 x 10^6 BBbar pairs at the Y(4S) resonance (corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 429 fb^-1). We present here a selection of recent results from the BaBar collaboration: search for lepton-number violation in the decay B^+ -> h^- l^+ l^+, search for lepton-flavor violation in B^+/- -> h^+/- tau l and CP-violation in tau^- -> pi^- KS (>= 0 pi^0) nu_tau.
We search for a light Higgs boson, $A^0$, in the radiative decay $Υ(3S)\toγA^0$, $A^0\toτ^+τ^-$, $τ^+\to e^+ν_e \barν_τ$ or $τ^+\to μ^+ ν_μ \barν_τ$. The data sample contains 122 million $Υ(3S)$ events recorded with the \babar detector. We find no evidence for a narrow structure in the studied $τ^+τ^-$ invariant mass region of $4.03<m_{τ^+τ^-}<10.10$ \gevcc. We exclude at the 90% confidence level (C.L.) a low mass Higgs decaying to $τ^+τ^-$ with a product branching fraction ${\cal {B}}(Υ(3S)\toγA^0)\times {\cal {B}}(A^0\toτ^+τ^-)$ $>(1.5-16)\times 10^{-5}$ across the $m_{τ^+τ^-}$ range. We als…
We will present the most recent results from the BABAR Collaboration concerning New Physics searches in rare B and Lepton Flavour Violating (LFV) decays, including b --> s transitions, purely leptonic B decays and LFV tau decays.
Using a sample of 122 million Upsilon(3S) decays collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, we measure the ratio R_taumu=BR(Upsilon(1S)->tau^+tau^-)/BR(Upsilon(1S)->mu^+mu^-); the measurement is intended as a test of lepton universality and as a possible search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) scenarios. Such a boson could appear in a deviation of the ratio R_taumu from the Standard Model expectation, that is 1, except for small lepton mass corrections. The …
We begin with giving some motivation for the study of charm semileptonic and fully leptonic decays. We turn next to a discussion of semileptonic absolution branching fraction results form CLEO-c. Two exciting high statistics results on fully leptonic decays of the D+ -> mu+ nu and Ds+ -> mu+ nu from CLEO-c and BaBar are reviewed. We turn next to a discussion of recent results on charm meson decay to pseudo-scalar l nu decays from FOCUS, BaBar, and CLEO-c. We conclude with a review of charm meson decay into Vector l nu.
We present some recent measurements of rare flavor-changing neutral current B decays, using data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider at SLAC. First, we search for the rare process B+ -> K+ tau- tau+ and we do not find evidence for signal. The measured branching fraction is (1.31+0.66-0.61(stat.)+0.35-0.25(sys.)) x 10-3 with an upper limit, at the 90% confidence level, of B(B+ -> K+ tau+ tau-) < 2.25 x 10-3. We then study the lepton forward-backward asymmetry AFB and the longitudinal K* polarization FL in the rare decays B -> K* l+ l-, where l+ l- is either e+ e- or mu…
We present some recent measurements performed using 514 fb-1 of $e^+e^-$ collisions collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric collider at SLAC. First we present a study of the decay tau -> K K_S nu, we measure the branching fraction B(tau -> K K_S nu), the mass spectrum of the K K_S system and obtain the spectral function. Our results are in agreement with and improve previous measurements. We then report a search for a dark boson A' produced in the reaction e+e- -> gamma A' in invisible final states A' -> chi anti-chi . We find no evidence for such processes and set 90% confi…
This article presents a model independent search for an additional, mostly sterile, Heavy Neutral Lepton (HNL), that is capable of mixing with the Standard Model $τ$ neutrino with a mixing strength of $|U_{τ4}|^{2}$, corresponding to the absolute square of the extended Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) matrix element. Data from the \babar~ experiment, with a total integrated luminosity of $424~ \text{fb}^{-1}$, are analyzed using a kinematic approach that makes no assumptions on the model behind the origins of the HNL, its lifetime or decay modes. No significant signal is found. Upper lim…
I present three recent results from searches for exotic physics at the BaBar/PEP-II B-factory. These results span many of the samples produced at the B-factory, including B mesons, tau leptons, and Upsilon(3S) mesons. We have searched for CPT-violation in B mixing and find no significant deviation from the no-violation hypothesis. We have also searched for lepton-flavor-violating decays of the tau using tau- -> omega l- and tau- -> l+ l- l+ and their charge conjugates. We find no evidence for these processes and set upper limits on their branching fractions. Finally, we have searched for a low…
Decays of B mesons to states involving tau leptons can be used as a tool to search for the effects of new physics, such as those involving a charged Higgs boson. The experimental status of the decays B -> tau nu and B -> D^(*) tau nu is discussed, together with limits on new physics effects from current results.
We review recent measurements of leptonic $D_s$-meson decays performed by Belle and BaBar collaborations. Described measurements enable experimental extraction of the $D_s$-meson decay constant which can be compared with lattice QCD calculations.
Radiative and leptonic decays of B-mesons represent an excellent laboratory for the search for New Physics. I present here recent results on radiative and leptonic decays from the Belle and BABAR collaborations.
Using 4.68 fb^{-1} of e^+e^- annihilation data collected with the CLEO II detector we have studied tau radiative decays tau --> mu nu nu gamma and tau --> e nu nu gamma. For a 10 MeV minimum photon energy in the tau rest frame, the branching fraction of a tau radiatively decaying to a muon is measured to be (3.61+-0.16+-0.35)*10^{-3}, and to an electron is (1.75+-0.06+-0.17)*10^{-2}. The branching fractions are in agreement with the Standard Model theoretical predictions. All quoted results are preliminary.
The $B$-factories provide rich opportunities to search for new phenomena, in $B$, charm, and tau decays. Presented here is a selection of recent results from Belle and Babar.
We search for the rare leptonic decay B+ --> tau+ nu_tau in a sample of 232x10^6 BBbar pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory. Signal events are selected by examining the properties of the B meson recoiling against the semileptonic decay B- --> D*0 l- nu_lbar. We find no evidence for a signal and set an upper limit on the branching fraction of BR(B+ --> tau+ nu_tau) < 2.8x10^{-4} at the 90% confidence level. We combine this result with a previous, statistically independent BABAR search for B+ --> tau+ nu_tau to give an upper limit of BR(B+ --> tau+ nu_tau) < 2.6x1…
We present the first evidence of the decay B- --> tau- nu_tau-bar using 414 fb^-1 of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. Events are tagged by fully reconstructing one of the B mesons in hadronic modes. We detect the signal with a significance of 3.5 standard deviations including systematics, and measure the branching fraction to be Br(B- --> tau- nu_tau-bar) = (1.79 +0.56-0.49(stat) +0.46-0.51(syst))*10^-4. This implies that f_B = 0.229 +0.036-0.031(stat) +0.034-0.037(syst) GeV and is the first direct measurement of t…
Using 4.68 fb^{-1} of e^+e^- annihilation data collected with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) we have studied tau radiative decays tau -> mu nu nu gamma and tau -> e nu nu gamma. For a 10 MeV minimum photon energy in the tau rest frame, the branching fraction of radiative tau decay to a muon or electron is measured to be (3.61+-0.16+-0.35)*10^{-3} or (1.75+-0.06+-0.17)*10^{-2}, respectively. The branching fractions are in agreement with the Standard Model theoretical predictions.
We present recent results from the BaBar collaboration in several areas of research. These include searches for new physics via measurements of radiative-penguin B decays, lepton-number and lepton-flavor violations in B decays, and CP violation in tau lepton decays.
With an integrated luminosity of 7.7 fb-1 collected on resonance by BABAR at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory, we measure the difference in mass between the neutral B eigenstates, Delta(m_d), to be (0.507+/-0.015+/-0.022)x 10^{12} hbar s^{-1} with dileptons events and present preliminary results for the B^0 lifetime, tau(B^0) = 1.55+/-0.05+/-0.07 ps and tau(B^0) = 1.62+/-0.02+/-0.09 ps obtained from partial reconstruction of the two B^0 decay processes respectively B^0-->D^{*-}pi^+ and B^0-->D^{*-} l^+ nu_l.
Today the B-factories BaBar and Belle have accumulated largest samples of tau-tau events and are competing to be called tau-factories. Among the problems to be tested and measurements to be done by BaBar and Belle are check of CP and CPT invariance in tau decays, measurement of strange and non-strange spectral functions, extraction of mass of strange quark and |V_us|, searches for lepton flavor violation processes. In this paper, the latest results in tau physics by these two experiments and measurements to be done within next few years are reviewed.
We review the recent experimental results on D and Ds meson leptonic decays from CLEO-c, Belle, and BABAR, which results in the decay constants f_D= (206.7 +- 8.9) MeV and f_Ds= (257.3 +- 5.3) MeV. The latter is an average obtained by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG). Comparisons with Lattice QCD (LQCD) calculations are discussed.
b to s transitions are flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) processes that play an important role in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Contributions from virtual particles in the loop are predicted to deviate observables, such as the branching fraction, from their SM expectations. Using data from the BaBar experiment, we present the first search for the rare decay B to K tau tau. The BABAR results on the measurement of the angular asymmetries of B to Kstar l l, where l is an electron or muon, are also reported. In addition, using a time-dependent analysis of B to KS0 pi…
A summary of the results of several recent studies of charm mixing is presented. A number of different methods were used, including the measurement of lifetime ratios for final states of different CP, time dependence of wrong-sign hadronic decays, fits to time-dependent Dalitz plots, and searches for wrong-sign semi-leptonic decays. Taken together, they suggest mixing is of order 1%. The status of searches for indirect CP violation is also reported.
We search for the purely leptonic decay $B^{\pm} \to μ^{\pm} ν_μ$ in the full BaBar dataset, having an integrated luminosity of approximately 426 fb$^{-1}$. We adopt a fully inclusive approach, where the signal candidate is identified by the highest momentum lepton in the event and the companion $B$ is inclusively reconstructed without trying to identify its decay products. We set a preliminary upper limit on the branching fraction of $\BR(B^{\pm} \to μ^{\pm} ν_μ) < 1.3 \times 10^{-6}$ at the 90% confidence level, using a Bayesian approach.
Since 1999, the B-factories collaborations BaBar and Belle have accumulated and studied large samples of tau lepton pairs. We summarize in the following the most interesting recent results.
The BABAR collaboration has demonstrated the first application of the new Tau Polarimetry technique. This polarimetry technique exploits the kinematic coupling of $τ$ decay products to the spin states of the $τ$ and initial state electron, to precisely determine the average beam polarization in an $e^+e^-$ collider. The Tau Polarimetry technique is expected to be used at Belle II following an upgrade to a polarized electron beam, where the precision with which the average beam polarization is known is expected to be the dominant systematic uncertainty in proposed future measurements which requ…
The BaBar experiment has recently obtained some important results in the search for new physics in leptonic and lepton flavor violating decays, exploiting the complete datasets collected at the $Υ(4S)$, $Υ(3S)$ and $Υ(2S)$ energies. In particular, new limits on the ratio $Γ(Υ(1S)\toτ^+τ^-)/Γ(Υ(1S)\toμ^+μ^-)$, on lepton flavor violating decays of the $Υ(3S)$ and $Υ(2S)$, and on $τ$ decays to three charged leptons or $τ\to e/μγ$ are presented.
The Michel parameters of the leptonic tau decays are measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The Michel parameters are extracted from the energy spectra of the charged decay leptons and from their energy-energy correlations. A new method involving a global likelihood fit of Monte Carlo generated events with complete detector simulation and background treatment has been applied to the data recorded at center-of-mass energies close to sqrt(s) = M(Z) corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 155 pb-1 during the years 1990 to 1995. If e-mu universality is assumed and inferring the tau polariza…
We have performed a search for the rare leptonic decay B+ --> mu+ nu_mu with data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II storage ring. In a sample of 88.4 million BBbar pairs, we find no significant evidence for a signal and set an upper limit on the branching fraction BR(B+ --> mu+ nu_mu) < 6.6 x 10^{-6} at the 90% confidence level.
The purely leptonic decays Ds -> tau nu and Ds -> mu nu are studied in a sample of four million hadronic Z decays collected with the ALEPH detector at the LEP e+e- collider from 1991 to 1995. The branching fractions are extracted from a combination of two analyses, one optimized to select Ds -> tau nu decays with tau -> e nu nubar or mu nu nubar, and the other optimized for Ds-> mu nu decays. The results are used to evaluate the Ds decay constant, within the Standard Model: fDs = [285 +- 19(stat) +- 40 (syst)] MeV
We have performed a search for the rare leptonic decays \Bp \to \ellp \nul ($l=e,μ$), using data collected at the \FourS resonance by the \babar\ detector at the \pep2 storage ring. In a sample of 468 million \BB pairs we find no evidence for a signal and set an upper limit on the branching fractions $\BR(\bmunu) < 1.0\times10^{-6}$ and $\BR(\benu) < 1.9\times10^{-6}$ at the 90% confidence level, using a Bayesian approach.
The large samples of tau decays available from CLEO and the four LEP experiment have resulted in new, precise measurements of the leptonic branching ratios of the $τ$. The experimental techniques to obtain these results are reviewed with special emphasis on the DELPHI measurement. World averages are found to be Be = (17.81 +/- 0.06) % and Bmu = (17.36 +/- 0.06) %. These results are consistent with universality in the charged current couplings to a precision of about 0.25 %. The branching ratio measurements can also be used to constrain the "low energy parameter" eta. It is shown that the sensi…
The precise measurement of the cross section e+e- --> pi+ pi-(gamma) from threshold to an energy of 3 GeV, using events with Initial State Radiation (ISR) collected with the BABAR detector, is presented. The ISR luminosity is determined from a study of the leptonic process e+e- --> mu+ mu- gamma(gamma), and the method is tested by the comparison with the next-to-leading order (NLO) QED prediction. The leading-order hadronic contribution to the muon magnetic anomaly calculated using the BABAR pi pi cross section measured from threshold to 1.8 GeV is (514.1 +- 2.2(stat) +- 3.1(syst)) * 10^{-10}.…
