Lectures on Flavor Physics and CP Violation

These lectures on flavor physics are an introduction to the subject. First lec- ture: We discuss the meaning of flavor and the importance of flavor physics in restricting extensions of the Standard Model (SM) of Electroweak interactions. We explain the origin of the KM matrix and how its elements are determined. We discuss FCNC and the GIM mechanism, followed by how a principle of Minimal Flavor Violation leads to SM extensions that are safe as far as FCNC are concerned even if the new physics comes in at low, TeVish scales. This is illustrated by the example of B radiative decays ( b → sγ ). Second lecture: We then turn our attention to CP-violation. We start by presenting neutral meson mixing. Then we consider various CP-asymmetries, culminating in the theoretically clean interference between mixing and decay into CP eigenstates.