Testing Time Reversal Invariance in Exclusive Semileptonic B Meson Decays

Abstract

We demonstrate that polarization measurements in exclusive semileptonic B decays are powerful tools for unraveling non-standard model sources of T-violation. Measurements of the transverse polarization of the tau lepton in the B to D tau nu and B to D* tau nu decays probe separately effective scalar and pseudoscalar CP-violating four-Fermi interactions, whereas the D* polarization in the B to D* l nu (l=e,mu) decay is sensitive to an effective right-handed quark current interaction. Two T-odd polarization structures exist involving the D* polarization and they can be isolated and studied separately. An estimate of these T-odd effects is also given in the context of supersymmetric theories.