Resolving B-CP Puzzles in QCD Factorization

Abstract

Within the framework of QCD factorization (QCDF), power corrections due to penguin annihilation can account for the observed rates of penguin-dominated two-body decays of $B$ mesons and direct CP asymmetries $A_{CP}(K^{-}{\pi }^{+})$, $A_{CP}(K^{\ast -}{\pi }^{+})$, $A_{CP}(K^{-}{\rho }^0)$ and $A_{CP}({\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-})$. However, the predicted direct CP-violating effects in QCDF for $B^{-}\to K^{-}{\pi }^0,K^{-}\eta ,{\pi }^{-}\eta$ and ${\bar{B}}^0\to {\pi }^0{\pi }^0$ are wrong in signs when confronted with experiment. We show that subleading $1/m_b$ power corrections to the color-suppressed tree amplitude due to spectator scattering or final-state interactions will yield correct signs for aforementioned CP asymmetries and accommodate the observed ${\pi }^0{\pi }^0$ and ${\rho }^0{\pi }^0$ rates simultaneously. Implications are discussed.

Comments: 12 pages, 1 figure. Experimental data and references updated, to appear in PRD