Is There Still a B -> pi K Puzzle?

We analyse the B -> pi pi, pi K modes in the light of the most recent B-factory data, and obtain the following new results: (i) the B0 -> pi+ pi-, pi- K+ modes prefer gamma=(74+-6)deg, which - together with |V_ub/V_cb| - allows us to determine the ``true'' unitarity triangle and to search for CP-violating new-physics contributions to B0_d-\bar B0_d mixing; (ii) the B -> pi K puzzle reflected in particular by the low experimental value of the ratio R_n of the neutral B -> pi K...

If new physics (NP) is present in B -> pi pi decays, it can affect the isospin I=2 or I=0 channels. In this paper, we discuss various methods for detecting and measuring this NP. The techniques have increasing amounts of theoretical hadronic input. If NP is eventually detected in B -> pi pi -- there is no evidence for it at present -- one will be able to distinguish I=2 and I=0, and measure its parameters, using these methods.

Based on the most recent data in charmless B decays including the very recently reported large direct CP violations, it is shown that the weak phase gamma can well be extracted without two-fold ambiguity even only from two decay modes pi^+pi^- and pi^+K^-, and its value is remarkably consistent with the global standard model fit at a compatible accuracy. A fit to all the pi pi, pi K data favor both large electroweak penguin and color-suppressed tree amplitude with large stron...

Recently, it was argued that new-physics (NP) effects in B decays can be approximately parametrized in terms of a few quantities. As a result, CP violation in the $B$ system allows one not only to detect the presence of new physics (NP), but also to measure its parameters. This will allow a partial identification of the NP, before its production at high-energy colliders. In this paper, we examine three methods for measuring NP parameters. The first uses a technique involving ...

In this work, we propose a model by combining the parameterization method and the QCD factorization to study the $B\to\pi K$ puzzle. The parameterization introduces twelve parameters, the weak angle $\gamma$ and the other eleven hadronic parameters. These hadronic parameters are calculated by the QCD factorization (QCDF). The calculational accuracy of the QCDF is improved by including the twist-3 three parton tree and one loop corrections. Three additional nonperturbative str...

Motivated by the measured large branching ratio of $\bar{B}^{0}\to\pi^0\pi^0$ (the so-called "$\pi\pi$" puzzle), we investigate the effects of a family non-universal $Z^{\prime}$ model on the tree-dominated $B\to\pi\pi$ decays. We find that the $Z^{\prime}$ coupling parameter $\zeta_{d}^{LR}\sim0.05$ with a nontrivial new weak phase $\phi_d^L\sim-50^{\circ}$, which is relevant to the $Z^{\prime}$ contributions to the QCD penguin sector $\triangle C_5$, is needed to reconcile ...

We re-examine the question of measuring the weak phase gamma in B -> K pi pi decays. To this end, we express all B -> K pi pi amplitudes in terms of diagrams. We show that, as in B -> K pi, there exist relations between certain tree and electroweak-penguin diagrams. The imposition of these relations allows the extraction of gamma from measurements of the B -> K pi pi observables. We estimate the theoretical error in this method to be O(5%).

The recently observed $B^-\to K^- \pi^0$, $\bar K^0 \pi^-$ and $\bar B^0 \to K^- \pi^+$ decay modes appear to have nearly equal branching ratios. This suggests that tree and electroweak penguins play an important role, and inclusion of the latter improves agreement between factorization calculation and experimental data. The value $\gamma$ in the range $90^\circle - 130^\circle$ and $220^\circle - 260^\circle$ is favored, while the $\bar B^0 \to \bar K^0 \pi^0$ rate is suppre...

The large ratio of color-suppressed tree amplitude to color-allowed one in $B \to \pi \pi$ decays is difficult to understand within the Standard Model, which is known as the "$B \to \pi\pi$ puzzle". The two tree diagrams contain the up- and charm-quark component of penguin amplitude, $P_{uc}$, which cannot be separated by measuring $B \to \pi \pi$ decays alone. We show that the measurements of the branching ratio and direct CP asymmetry of $B^+ \to K^+ \bar{K^0}$ decay enable...

If physics beyond the standard model is present in B decays, experimental measurements seem to suggest that it principally affects those processes with significant b->s penguin amplitudes. It was recently argued that, in general, such new-physics (NP) effects can be parametrized in terms of a single NP amplitude A^q and phase \Phi_q, for q=u,d,s,c. In this paper, we show that the study of the decays Bs(t) -> K^+ K^- and Bd(t) -> \pi^+\pi^- allows one to measure the NP paramet...