Measuring the CP angle β in hadronic b -> s penguin decays

Asymmetric e⁺e^- colliders running on the Y(4S) (B factories) will much more readily measure CP-violating asymmetries in the decays of B⁰_d and B^+/- mesons than in the decays of B⁰_s mesons. As such, they will seemingly not be able to probe new phases in B⁰_s-overlineB⁰_s mixing, i.e. in b -> s transitions. However, by measuring the CP angle β via b -> s hadronic penguin decays such as <!- FORMULA OMITTED -> and <!- FORMULA OMITTED ->, and comparing its value to that obtained in <!- FORMULA OMITTED ->, it is possible to detect the presence of new physics in the b -> s flavor-changing neutral current. Recent CLEO results are encouraging in this regard. They suggest that the branching ratio of the b -> s penguin decay B⁰_d -> η' K_s is anomalously large, about 4 × 10^-5, which will make it much easier to search for new physics in b -> s transitions.