Report of the B-factory Group: 1, Physics and techniques

The study of B meson decay appears to offer a unique opportunity to measure basic parameters of the Standard Model, probe for interactions mediated by higher mass particles, and investigate the origin of CP violation. These opportunities have been enhanced by the results of two measurements. The first is the measurement of a long B meson lifetime. In addition to allowing a simpler identification of B mesons and a measurement of the time of their decay, this observation implies that normal decays are suppressed, making rare decays more prevalent. The second measurement is that neutral B mesons are strongly mixed. This enhances the possibilities for studying CP violation in the B system. The CESR storage ring is likely to dominate the study of B physics in e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} annihilations for about the next five years. First, CESR has already reached a luminosity of 10{sup 32} cm{sup {minus}1} sec{sup {minus}1} and has plans for improvements which may increase the luminosity by a factor of about five. Second, a second-generation detector, CLEO II, will start running in 1989. Given this background, the main focus of this working group was to ask what is needed for the mid- to late-1990 s. Manymore » laboratories are thinking about new facilities involving a variety of techniques. To help clarify the choices, we focused on one example of CP violation and estimated the luminosity required to measure it using different techniques. We will briefly describe the requirements for detectors matched to these techniques. In particular, we will give a conceptual design of a possible detector for asymmetric collisions at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance, one of the attractive techniques which will emerge from this study. A discussion of accelerator technology issues for using these techniques forms the second half of the B-factory Group report, and it follows in these proceedings. 34 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.« less