B Physics in the LHC Era: Selected Topics

Abstract

We have just entered a new round in the testing of the flavour sector of the Standard Model through high-precision measurements of B-meson decays. A particularly exciting aspect is the exploration of the B_s-meson system at LHCb. We focus on two particularly promising probes of new physics which may give us first solid evidence for New Physics at the LHC: the strongly suppressed rare decay B_s^0 -> mu^+mu^- and CP-violating effects in the B_s^0 -> J/psi phi channel. We discuss recent theoretical developments related to these measurements and shall also sketch other highlights of the B-physics programme in the LHC era.