QCD corrections to B -> J/psi + anything

Abstract

We calculate the branching ratio for B -> J/psi + anything, within the color-singlet approximation for J/psi production, but including perturbative QCD corrections beyond the leading logarithm approximation. Such higher order corrections are necessary, in order to obtain a result that is not strongly dependent on the renormalization scale. As in the earlier work of Bergstrom and Ernstrom, we use a double expansion in alpha_s and in the small ratio of Wilson coefficients L_0/L_2, to identify the dominant terms in the decay amplitude. We complete their work by calculating all the leading order terms in this double expansion. The predicted branching ratio is then BR(B -> J/psi + anything) = 0.09 (+1.1)(-0.3) %, which is well below the experimental value BR(experimental) = 0.80 (+-0.08) %. This confirms the suspicion that non-perturbative corrections to the color-singlet approximation for J/psi production in B decays are important.