The central drift chamber for the BaBar detector at the SLAC B-factory is based on a hexagonal cell design with 7104 cells arranged in 40 layers and drift gas Helium:isobutane (80%:20%). Performance optimization and integration requirements led to an electronics design that mounts the amplifier-discriminator and digitizing circuitry directly on the endplate. High channel density is achieved using a 4-channel custom amplifier-discriminator IC and an 8-channel custom CMOS TDC/FADC IC on a single circuit board. Data read from the front ends are multiplexed on 4 fiber optic links, and prompt trigger data are sent out continuously on 24 links. Analysis of cosmic ray data demonstrates that the electronics design meets the performance goals for the BaBar drift chamber. The final electronics were installed on the drift chamber in July, 1998. Installation of BaBar on beamline is scheduled for March, 1999. © 1999 IEEE.

We report a Dalitz plot analysis of charmless hadronic decays of charged B mesons to the final state KS0π+π0 using the full BABAR data set of 470.9±2.8 million BB events collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance. We measure the overall branching fraction and CP asymmetry to be B(B+→K0π+π0)=(31.8±1.8±2.1-0.0+6.0)×10-6 and ACP(B+→K0π+π0)=0.07±0.05±0.03-0.03+0.02, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the signal model, respectively. This is the first measurement of the branching fraction for B+→K0π+π0. We find first evidence of a CP asymmetry in B+→K∗(892)+π0 decays: ACP(B+→K∗(892)+π0)=-0.52±0.14±0.04-0.02+0.04. The significance of this asymmetry, including systematic and model uncertainties, is 3.4 standard deviations. We also measure the branching fractions and CP asymmetries for three other intermediate decay modes.

A study of the two-body decays B^{±}→X_{cc[over ¯]}K^{±}, where X_{cc[over ¯]} refers to one charmonium state, is reported by the BABAR Collaboration using a data sample of 424  fb^{-1}. The absolute determination of branching fractions for these decays are significantly improved compared to previous BABAR measurements. Evidence is found for the decay B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+} at the 3σ level. The absolute branching fraction B[B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+}]=[2.1±0.6(stat)±0.3(syst)]×10^{-4} is measured for the first time. It follows that B[X(3872)→J/ψπ^{+}π^{-}]=(4.1±1.3)%, supporting the hypothesis of a molecular component for this resonance.

We measure the time-dependent CP asymmetry in the radiative-penguin decay B0→KS0π-π+γ, using a sample of 471×106 (4S)→BB-events recorded with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e- storage ring at SLAC. Using events with mKππ<1.8 GeV/c2, we measure the branching fractions of B+→K+π-π+γ and B0→K0π-π+γ, the branching fractions of the kaonic resonances decaying to K+π-π+, as well as the overall branching fractions of the B+→ρ0K+γ, B+→K∗0π+γ and S-wave B+→(Kπ)0∗0π+γ components. For events from the ρ mass band, we measure the CP-violating parameters SKS0π+π-γ=0.14±0.25±0.03 and CKS0π+π-γ=-0.39±0.20-0.02+0.03, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We extract from this measurement the time-dependent CP asymmetry related to the CP eigenstate ρ0KS0 and obtain SKS0ργ=-0.18±0.32-0.05+0.06, which provides information on the photon polarization in the underlying b→sγ transition.

We present measurements of Collins asymmetries in the inclusive process e+e-→h1h2X, h1h2=KK, Kπ, ππ, at the center-of-mass energy of 10.6 GeV, using a data sample of 468 fb-1 collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II B factory at SLAC National Accelerator Center. Considering hadrons in opposite thrust hemispheres of hadronic events, we observe clear azimuthal asymmetries in the ratio of unlike sign to like sign, and unlike sign to all charged h1h2 pairs, which increase with hadron energies. The Kπ asymmetries are similar to those measured for the ππ pairs, whereas those measured for high-energy KK pairs are, in general, larger.

The e+e-→K+K- cross section and charged-kaon electromagnetic form factor are measured in the e+e- center-of-mass energy range (E) from 2.6 to 8.0 GeV using the initial-state radiation technique with an undetected photon. The study is performed using 469fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II2 e+e- collider at center-of-mass energies near 10.6 GeV. The form factor is found to decrease with energy faster than 1/E2 and approaches the asymptotic QCD prediction. Production of the K+K- final state through the J/ψ and ψ(2S) intermediate states is observed. The results for the kaon form factor are used together with data from other experiments to perform a model-independent determination of the relative phases between electromagnetic (single-photon) and strong amplitudes in J/ψ and ψ(2S)→K+K- decays. The values of the branching fractions measured in the reaction e+e-→K+K- are shifted relative to their true values due to interference between resonant and nonresonant amplitudes. The values of these shifts are determined to be about ±5% for the J/ψ meson and ±15% for the ψ(2S) meson.

Using a sample of (470.9±2.8)×106 BB pairs, we measure the decay branching fraction B(B0→D∗-π+π-π+)=(7.26±0.11±0.31)×10-3, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. Our measurement will be helpful in studies of lepton universality by measuring B(B0→D∗-τ+ντ) using τ+→π+π-π+ντ decays, normalized to B(B0→D∗-π+π-π+).

We report on the first search for electron-muon lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the decay of a b quark and b antiquark bound state. We look for the LFV decay ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓} in a sample of 118 million ϒ(3S) mesons from 27  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider operating with a 10.36 GeV center-of-mass energy. No evidence for a signal is found, and we set a limit on the branching fraction B[ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓}]<3.6×10^{-7} at 90% C. L. This result can be interpreted as a limit Λ_{NP}/g_{NP}^{2}>80  TeV on the energy scale Λ_{NP} divided by the coupling-squared g_{NP}^{2} of relevant new physics (NP).

Using the eight time dependences e-Γt(1+CicosΔmt+SisinΔmt) for the decays ϒ(4S)→B0B 0→fjfk, with the decay into a flavor-specific state fj=±X before or after the decay into a CP eigenstate fk=cc KS,L, as measured by the BABAR experiment, we determine the three CPT-sensitive parameters Re(z) and Im(z) in B0-B 0 mixing and |Ā/A| in B0→cc K0 decays. We find Im(z)=0.010±0.030±0.013, Re(z)=-0.065±0.028±0.014, and |Ā/A|=0.999±0.023±0.017, in agreement with CPT symmetry.