Tests of Factorization and SU(3) Relations in B Decays into Heavy-Light Final States

TL;DR

This paper tests the factorization hypothesis in non-leptonic B decays using data from B factories and the Tevatron, finding good agreement for certain topologies and exploring SU(3) breaking effects.

Contribution

It provides experimental validation of factorization in B decays and quantifies SU(3)-breaking effects, offering new insights into decay amplitude structures.

Findings

Factorization works well for color-allowed topologies

Exchange topologies show no anomalous behavior

SU(3)-breaking effects are within 5%

Abstract

Using data from the B factories and the Tevatron, we perform tests of how well non-leptonic B decays of the kind B -> D^{(*)}_{(s)} P, where P is a pion or kaon, are described within the factorization framework. We find that factorization works well - as is theoretically expected - for color-allowed, tree-diagram-like topologies. Moreover, also exchange topologies, which have a non-factorizable character, do not show any anomalous behavior. We discuss also isospin triangles between the B -> D^{(*)} pi decay amplitudes, and determine the corresponding amplitudes in the complex plane, which show a significant enhancement of the color-suppressed tree contribution with respect to the factorization picture. Using data for B -> D^{(*)} K decays, we determine SU(3)-breaking effects and cannot resolve any non-factorizable SU(3)-breaking corrections larger than \sim 5%. In view of these results, we point out that a comparison between the \bar B^0_d -> D^+\pi^- and \bar B^0_s -> D_s^+\pi^- decays offers an interesting new determination of f_d/f_s. Using CDF data, we obtain the most precise value of this ratio at CDF, and discuss the prospects for a corresponding measurement at LHCb.