The B-->pi K Puzzle and Supersymmetry

Abstract

At present, there are discrepancies between the measurements of several observables in B-->pi K decays and the predictions of the standard model (the ``B-->pi K puzzle''). Although the effect is not yet statistically significant -- it is at the level of $\text{gsim}3\sigma$ -- it does hint at the presence of new physics. In this paper, we explore whether supersymmetry (SUSY) can explain the B-->pi K puzzle. In particular, we consider the SUSY model of Grossman, Neubert and Kagan (GNK). We find that it is extremely unlikely that GNK explains the B-->pi K data. We also find a similar conclusion in many other models of SUSY. And there are serious criticisms of the two SUSY models that do reproduce the B-->pi K data. If the B-->pi K puzzle remains, it could pose a problem for SUSY models.

Comments: 14 pages, 2 figures; added references