Speaker Institution: Weizmann Institute of Science
Title: Hints of new physics in semi-leptonic B-meson decays
Abstract: In recent years, a number of interesting signals of potential new physics in semi-leptonic B-meson decays have been reported both by the B-factories as well as the LHCb. In this talk, I will discuss these observations with a particular emphasis on the observable $R_{D^*}$, the ratio of the branching fraction of $\bar{B} \to D^* \tau \bar{ u}_\tau$ to that of $\bar{B} \to D^* \ell \bar{ u}_\ell (\ell = \mu, e )$, which shows a 3.3 sigma deviation from the Standard Model prediction. I will present an effective field theory analysis of these potential new physics signals and discuss possible ways to distinguish the various operators.