Lifetimes of charm and beauty hadrons

摘要

Major breakthroughs have been achieved in the determination of the lifetimes of charm and beauty hadrons. Much larger data samples than previously have become available and new experimental devices and techniques have been developed and employed. The lifetimes of all weakly decaying singly charmed hadrons have been measured, some with an accuracy of a few percent. The difference in the shortest lifetime tau(Omega(c)) - and the longest one - tau(D+) - is given by a factor of close to ten. The experimental status of beauty lifetimes. while less complete, has still reached a new level of quality and is now better than 5% for the commoner states. New theoretical tools, based mainly on heavy quark expansions, have been developed; they incorporate as well as transcend earlier phenomenological descriptions. The observed pattern in the charm lifetime ratios is reproduced in a semi-quantitative manner as well as could be expected; as far as the beauty lifetime ratios are concerned some problems may well be emerging. The maturity level achieved in the measurements bodes quite well for future challenges where reliable and efficient tracking of the decay vertices will be crucial.