We report the status of an ongoing lattice-QCD calculation of form factors for exclusive semileptonic decays of B mesons with both charged currents (B → π ν, B s → K ν) and neutral currents (B → π + − , B → K + − ). The results are important for constraining or revealing physics beyond the Standard Model. This work uses MILC's (2+1+1)-flavor ensembles with the HISQ action for the sea and light valence quarks and the clover action in the Fermilab interpretation for the b quark. Simulations are carried out at three lattice spacings down to 0.088 fm, with both physical and unphysical seaquark masses. We present preliminary results for correlation-function fits.
IntroductionSemileptonic decays of B (s) mesons are important to searches for new physics at the intensity frontier. Decays mediated at tree-level by charged currents (see Figure 1, left), namely B → π ν and B s → K ν , provide precise determinations of the CKM matrix element |V ub |. This element is crucial for testing CKM unitarity and thus important in the search for new physics. There are well-known discrepancies between inclusive and exclusive determinations of |V ub | [1]. Exclusive determinations combine theoretical calculations of nonperturbative form factors with experimental measurements of decay rates. This work seeks to further reduce the uncertainties from theory.Decays mediated by neutral currents (see Figure 1, right), namely B → π + − and B → K + − , provide precise tests of the Standard Model. Since flavor-changing neutral-current (FCNC) interactions are rare, they are sensitive to contributions from new physics. Tension currently exists between