Quark-Flavour Physics

Precision measurements in the flavour system are a powerful tool for searches for new physics phenomena. Historically, bottom- and charm-flavour physics is performed in the clean environment of \(e^{+}e^{-}\) collider experiments. Exploiting the large \(b\bar{b}\) and \(c\bar{c}\) cross sections in \(pp\) collisions, the LHC experiments, however, impressively demonstrate their huge flavour-physics potential and have by now superseded most of the results of previous experiments. In this section we present some of the highlights of the flavour-physics programme of the LHC, give pedagogical introductions to the theoretical concepts, and interpret the experimental results.