Colloquium : Time-reversal violation with quantum-entangled B mesons

One of the most important symmetries in nature is time reversal, namely, that the laws of physics remain dynamically invariant from moving forward to backward in time. Nevertheless, this symmetry can be broken in certain physical processes as observed in neutral B mesons by the BABAR Collaboration....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reviews of modern physics 2015-03, Vol.87 (1), p.165-182
Main Authors: Bernabeu, J, Martinez-Vidal, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymmetry
Decomposition
Evolution
Kaons
Mesons
Symmetry
Transformations
Weak interactions (field theory)
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Summary:One of the most important symmetries in nature is time reversal, namely, that the laws of physics remain dynamically invariant from moving forward to backward in time. Nevertheless, this symmetry can be broken in certain physical processes as observed in neutral B mesons by the BABAR Collaboration. Symmetry transformations have been proven a bedrock tool for understanding the nature of particle interactions, formulating, and testing fundamental theories. Based on the up to now unbroken CPT symmetry, the violation of the CP symmetry between matter and antimatter by weak interactions, discovered in the decay of kaons in 1964 and observed more recently in 2001 in mesons, strongly suggests that the behavior of these particles under weak interactions must also be asymmetric under time reversal T. The method allows a clear-cut separation of different transitions between flavor and eigenstates in the decay of neutral mesons. The results, presented in 2012, prove beyond any doubt the violation of time-reversal invariance in the time evolution between these two states of the neutral B meson.
ISSN:0034-6861
1539-0756
DOI:10.1103/RevModPhys.87.165