Two topics in b physics

(1) A simple transversity analysis permits one to separate the P-even and P-odd partial waves in such decays as B_s \to J/\psi \phi and B \to J/\psi K^*. This method is relevant to the separation of contributions of CP-even and CP-odd final states in B_s decays, and hence to the measurement of a possible lifetime difference between mass eigenstates. (2) The enhancement \Delta \Gamma (\Lambda_b) of the \Lambda_b decay rate due to four-fermion processes is calculated in terms of the \Sigma_b^* - \Sigma_b hyperfine splitting, the B^* - B hyperfine splitting, and the B meson decay constant f_B. Despite a relatively large hyperfine splitting observed by the DELPHI Collaboration, the mechanism falls far short of being able to explain the observed enhancement.