A closer look at the extraction of |Vub| from B → πℓν

To extract the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element |Vub|, we have re-analyzed all the available inputs (data and theory) on the B → πℓν decays including the newly available inputs on the form-factors from light cone sum rule (LCSR) approach. We have reproduced and compared the results with the procedure taken up by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFLAV), while commenting on the effect of outliers on the fits. After removing the outliers and creating a comparable group of data-sets, we mention a few scenarios in the extraction of |Vub|. In all those scenarios, the extracted values of |Vub| are higher than that obtained by HFLAV. Our best results for |Vub|exc. are (3.94 ± 0.14) × 10−3 and $$ \left({3.93}_{-0.15}^{+0.14}\right) $$ 3.93 − 0.15 + 0.14 × 10−3 in frequentist and Bayesian approaches, respectively, which are consistent with that extracted from inclusive decays |Vub|inc. within 1 σ confidence interval.

Effective Field Theories for Heavy Quarks: Heavy Quark Effective Theory and Heavy Quark Expansion

The heavy quark effective theory (HQET) and the heavy quark expansion (HQE) have developed into the standard tools in heavy-flavour physics. The lectures in this chapter introduce the basics of the approach and illustrates the methods by discussing some of their phenomenological applications. The chapter covers construction of the HQET Lagrangian, symmetries of HQET, HQET at one loop, and HQET applications to phenomenology. It also discusses HQE inclusive decays, operator product expansion (OPE), tree-level results, HQE parameters, QCD corrections, and end-point regions. It concludes by reiterating the enormous impact that both HQET and the HQE have had on particle physics phenomenology.

Heavy hybrids and tetraquarks in effective field theory

We report on an effective field theory (EFT) description of exotic quarkonia as bound states on the spectrum of hybrid and tetraquarks static energies. We provide expressions for hybrid and tetraquarks static energies in terms of Wilson loops. The former have been computed in quenched lattice calculations but the latter are yet unavailable. From the few simulations with dynamical light-quarks we argue that the overall picture from hybrid static energies does not change but additional states, such as heavy meson pairs, need to be considered for a full description. In this EFT framework for quarkonium hybrids, we report on recent results for mixing with standard quarkonium, spin-dependent contributions, and semi-inclusive decays.