Abstract: The standard model of particle physics describes the fundamental particles and their interactions via the strong, electromagnetic and weak forces. It provides precise predictions for measurable quantities that can be tested experimentally. The probabilities, or branching fractions, of the strange B meson (B-s(0)) and the B-0 meson decaying into two oppositely charged muons (mu(+) and mu(-)) are especially interesting because of their sensitivity to theories that extend the standard model. The standard model predicts that the B-s(0)->mu(+)mu(-) and B-0 ->mu(+)mu(-) decays are very rare, with about four of the former occurring for every billion B-s(0) mesons produced, and one of the latter occurring for every ten billion B-0 mesons(1). A difference in the observed branching fractions with respect to the predictions of the standard model would provide a direction in which the standard model should be extended. Before the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN2 started operating, no evidence for either decay mode had been found. Upper limits on the branching fractions were an order of magnitude above the standard model predictions. The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) and LHCb(Large Hadron Collider beauty) collaborations have performed a joint analysis of the data from proton-proton collisions that they collected in 2011 at a centre-of-mass energy of seven teraelectronvolts and in 2012 at eight teraelectronvolts. Here we report the first observation of the B-s(0)->mu(+)mu(-) decay, with a statistical significance exceeding six standard deviations, and the best measurement so far of its branching fraction. Furthermore, we obtained evidence for the B-0 ->mu(+)mu(-) decay with a statistical significance of three standard deviations. Both measurements are statistically compatible with standard model predictions and allow stringent constraints to be placed on theories beyond the standard model. The LHC experiments will resume taking data in 2015, recording proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 teraelectronvolts, which will approximately double the production rates of B-s(0) and B-0 mesons and lead to further improvements in the precision of these crucial tests of the standard model.

Abstract: The radiative decays of b-baryons facilitate the direct measurement of photon helicity in b -> s gamma transitions thus serving as an important test of physics beyond the Standard Model. In this paper we analyze the complete angular distribution of ground state b-baryon radiative decays to multibody final states assuming an initially polarized b-baryon sample. Our sensitivity study suggests that the photon polarization asymmetry can be extracted to a good accuracy along with a simultaneous measurement of the initial b-baryon polarization. With higher yields of b-baryons, achievable in subsequent runs of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), we find that the photon polarization measurement can play a pivotal role in constraining different new physics scenarios.

Abstract: A search for CP violation in the Cabibbo-suppressed D-0 K+K-+- decay mode is performed using an amplitude analysis. The measurement uses a sample of pp collisions recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1). The D-0 mesons are reconstructed from semileptonic b-hadron decays into D0-X final states. The selected sample contains more than 160 000 signal decays, allowing the most precise amplitude modelling of this D-0 decay to date. The obtained amplitude model is used to perform the search for CP violation. The result is compatible with CP symmetry, with a sensitivity ranging from 1% to 15% depending on the amplitude considered.