Quark confinement and the genesis of the constituent quark model are examined in nonperturbative QCD in Coulomb gauge. We employ a self-consistent method to construct a quasiparticle basis and to determine the quasiparticle interaction. The results agree remarkably well with lattice computations. They also illustrate the mechanism by which confinement and constituent quarks emerge, provide support for the Gribov-Zwanziger confinement scenario, clarify several perplexing issues in the constituent quark model, and permit the construction of an improved model of low energy QCD.

The amplitude for the exclusive nonleptonic decay of a heavy meson into two light pseudoscalar mesons is analyzed using the factorization formalism of perturbative QCD for exclusive reactions at large momentum transfer. We show that the leading contribution to such amplitudes is proportional to (rs(Q2) where Q" scales with the heavy meson mass squared. Branching ratios for a few B" decay modes are calculated.

The phenomenology of a newly developed model of hybrid meson decay is developed. The decay mechanism is based on the heavy quark expansion of QCD and the strong coupling flux tube picture of nonperturbative glue. A comprehensive list of partial decay widths of a wide variety of light, ss, cc, and bb hybrid mesons is presented. Results which appear approximately universal are highlighted along with those which distinguish different hybrid decay models. Finally, we examine several interesting hybrid candidates in detail.