Speaker:  Hal Evans, Indiana University

Title: b's in our Bonnet: DZero's role in the Flavor Path to New Physics

Abstract: Signals of physics beyond the Standard Model are keenly anticipated in upcoming collider experiments. However, seeing a bump in a mass spectrum is only the first step on the path to a better model of particle interactions. Determining the nature of the new physics will require input from a wide variety of sources ranging from the structure of the universe to the properties of its tiniest components. One of the most promising avenues of study though, leads through the realm of quark flavor to the province of the b-quark. We will discuss why the study of b-quarks is such a fertile field for our understanding of physics beyond the Standard Model. Past successes as well as the current status of research will be outlined. We will then explore the next likely breakthrough in b-physics - the measurement of oscillations between Bs and anti-Bs mesons. Using work done on the DZero experiment at Fermilab, the challenges of this search will be highlighted and first, preliminary results will be presented. Along the way, we will see illustrations of how these challenges are being met in other areas of the study of B-hadrons at DZero.

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