B Decays, the Unitarity Triangle, and the Universe

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in flavor physics, focusing on constraints on the CKM matrix, CP violation measurements, and their implications for new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current experimental constraints and discusses how future experiments can reveal physics beyond the Standard Model.

Findings

Constraints on CKM matrix from recent measurements

Connection between CP violation in B decays and baryogenesis

Potential of future experiments to uncover new physics

Abstract

A review is given of recent developments in the physics of flavor. Current constraints on the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix are discussed and related to the recent measurements of epsilon'/epsilon, sin(2beta) and K+ -> pi+ nu nubar. A brief review is given of the connection between CP violation in B decays and electroweak baryogenesis. Finally, there is an extensive discussion of how present and proposed experiments in K and B physics can constrain the pattern of flavor changing processes at low energies and, one hopes, eventually provide unambiguous evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model.