Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics, Studies of Beauty and Charm Decays

Investigations of b quark decays started in 1980 with the discovery of the Y(4S) resonance by CLEO. This followed the discovery of the b-quark at Fermilab in 1977, by Lederman’s group. Almost from the very beginning there have been two themes associated with b decay studies. One is the measurement of standard model (SM) parameters, among them the magnitudes and phases of the quark mixing matrix (CKM matrix). The other far more reaching theme is to reveal or limit the presence of physics beyond the SM. New forces, represented by new particles would be exchanged in quantum loops present in decay diagrams of b-flavored hadrons, and these particles can affect decay rates, mixings, CP violation and decay angular distributions. In fact, it is somewhat surprising that we have not already unambiguously observed such phenomena. I will discuss progress in these two important directions, possible hints of new physics, and plans for the future. Important contributions from charm decay explorations will also be mentioned.