CP violation and flavour mixing in the Standard Model

Summary

We review and update the constraints on the parameters of the quark flavour mixing matrixV _CKM in the Standard Model and estimate the resultingCP asymmetries in B decays, taking into account recent experimental and theoretical developments. In performing our fits, we use inputs from the measurements of the following quantities: i) |ε|, theCP-violating parameter in K decays, ii) ΔM _d, the mass difference due to the$B_{d^ - }^0 \bar B_d^0$ mixing, iii) the matrix elements |V _cb| and |V _ub|, iv)-v) has improved compared to our previous fits. With the updated CKM matrix we present the currently-allowed range of the ratios |V _td/V _ts| and |V _td/V _ub|, as well as the Standard Model predictions for the$B_{s^ - }^0 \bar B_s^0$ mixing parameterx _s (or, equivalently, ΔM _s) and the quantities sin2α, sin2β and sin²γ, which characterize theCP-asymmetries in B decays. Various theoretical issues related to the so-called «penguin-pollution», which are of importance for the determination of the phases α and γ from theCP-asymmetries in B decays, are also discussed.