Recent Advances in Charm Physics

Abstract

New results from charm experiments have led to renewed interest in this physics. The charm sector is now seen as a powerful tool to search for new physics and to advance our understanding of the standard model. We owe much of this progress to the combination of precision vertexing and large data samples collected by recent e+e- and fixed target experiments. Sensitivities to D0-D0bar mixing and CP violation are approaching some non-standard model predictions. Recent measurements of charmed particle lifetimes and semileptonic decays have added to our understanding of decay mechanisms and the dynamics of heavy-to-light quark transitions. Many of these provide vital input to QCD models and are an essential ingredient in extracting standard model parameters from other measurements. Studies of charmonium production continue to offer new surprises. A recent measurement from Belle indicates that ~60% of J/psi events produced in continuum e+e- collisions are produced with an additional charm quark pair. Fueled by new data from a host of continuing and future experiments, we can expect significant improvement to the standard model and possibly some new surprises.