Lambda_b lifetime puzzle in heavy-quark expansion

Abstract

Lifetime differences of heavy hadrons can be consistently computed in heavy-quark expansion. The leading effects appear through spectator interactions at order 1/m_b^3. We compute a well-defined subset of 1/m_b^4 corrections to the lifetime ratio of Lambda_b baryon and B_d meson. We find that these corrections are large and should be taken into account in the systematic analysis of heavy hadron lifetimes. We claim that they could shift the ratio \tau_{\Lambda_b}/\tau_{B_d} by as much as -4.5%, significantly reducing the discrepancy between the theoretical predictions and experimental observations.