The B Meson

ParticleSymbolAnti-
particle
Makeup
Rest mass
MeV/c2
SCBLifetime
Decay Modes
B
B-
B+
bu
5279
0
0
-1
1.5
x10-12
D0 + _
B
B0
B0
db
5279
0
0
-1
1.5
x10-12
D0 + _
Bs
Bs0
Bs0
sb
5370
-1
0
-1
1.5
x10-12
PDG
Bc
Bc+
Bc-
cb
6275
0
0
-1
0.5
x10-12
PDG

The B-meson contains a b-quark and the least massive variety has a mass about 5.6 times that of a proton. The table summarizes the properties of the B variety which contains the b-quark along with an up or down quark. The more exotic varieties Bs and Bc contain the b-quark along with a strange or charm quark respectively. The study of the B-meson has proven to be fruitful and has merited the operation of "B-factories" at the SLAC and KEK accelerator facilities. At those facilities the violation of CP symmetry in B-meson decay was confirmed in 2001. In B-meson decay the CP violation was found to be a larger effect than in the case of the Kaon decay although it was an effect on rare decays while the Kaon experiments shows a small effect on common decays. The branching ratio for the decay
B0 → K+ + π- is only 1.82 x 10-5, but this decay is 13% more common than its CP' 'mirror image' decay B0 → K- + π+ (Griffiths).

Meson diagramTable of mesons
Index

Particle concepts

B meson wiki

Griffiths, 2nd Ed sec 1.9, 4.4
 
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