Highlights of the B-Physics Landscape

Abstract

The exploration of the quark-flavour sector of the Standard Model is one of the hot topics in particle physics of this decade. In these studies, which show a fruitful interplay between theory and experiment, the B-meson system offers a particularly interesting laboratory. After giving an introduction to quark-flavour mixing and CP violation as well as to the theoretical tools to deal with non-leptonic B decays, we discuss popular avenues for new physics to enter the roadmap of quark-flavour physics. This allows us to have a detailed look at the B-factory benchmark modes $B^0_d\to J/\psi K_S$, $B^0_d\to \phi K_S$ and $B^0_d\to\pi^+\pi^-$, with a particular emphasis of the impact of new physics. We then perform an analysis of the $B\to\pi K$ puzzle, which may indicate new sources of CP violation in the electroweak penguin sector, and discuss its implications for rare B and K decays. The next topic is given by $b\to d$ penguin processes, which are now starting to become accessible at the B factories, thereby representing a new territory of the B-physics landscape. Finally, we discuss the prospects for B-decay studies at the Large Hadron Collider, where the $B^0_s$-meson system plays an outstanding role.