b b-bar Production on the Z Resonance and Implications for LEP2

Abstract

In terms of an effective lagrangian, we examine the effect of new physics associated with third-generation fermions on b b-bar production at the Z resonance and study its implications for LEP2. We obtain the constraints on such operators with derivative couplings at LEP1 and the SLC, and determine the prospects for detecting their presence at LEP2. We find that despite the small observed deviations from the standard model on the Z resonance, much larger deviations from standard model predictions are possible at LEP2, and the corresponding couplings can be determined rather precisely.