Testing Explanations of the B ---> phi K* Polarization Puzzle

ALAKABHA DATTA; ANDREI GRITSAN; DAVID LONDON; MAKIKO NAGASHIMA; ALEJANDRO SZYNKMAN

PHYSICAL REVIEW D - PARTICLE AND FILDS

American Physical Society

Año: 2007

0556-2821

B→ϕK∗ (b¯→s¯) 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: fT/fL≃1, in opposition to the naive expectation that fT≪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 fT/fL in b¯→d¯ decays. In B→ρρ decays, only B0d→ρ0ρ0 can possibly exhibit a large fT/fL. In B decays related by U-spin, we find two promising possibilities: (i) B+→K*0ρ+ (b¯→s¯) and B+→K¯¯¯*0K*+ (b¯→d¯) and (ii) Bs→K*0K¯¯¯*0 (b¯→s¯) and B0d→K¯¯¯*0K*0 (b¯→d¯). The measurement of fT/fL 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 B0d→K¯¯¯*0K*0.