The $D^0\bar{D}^0$ Mixing Search --- Current Status and Future Prospects

Abstract

The search for $D^0\bar{D}^0$ mixing carries a large discovery potential for new physics since the $D^0\bar{D}^0$ mixing rate is expected to be very small in the Standard Model. The past decade has seen significant experimental progress in sensitivity, from 20\% down to 0.37\%. This paper discusses the techniques, current experimental status, and future prospects for the mixing search. Some new ideas, applicable to future mixing searches, are introduced. One of the new ideas is to use Singly Cabibbo Suppressed Decays (SCSD), such as $D^0 \to K+K-, π^+π^-$, to study mixing. A postscript version will be available through World-Wide-Web in http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/TALK/1994 soon.