Summary on tau leptonic branching ratios and universality

The large samples of tau decays available from CLEO and the four LEP experiment have resulted in new, precise measurements of the leptonic branching ratios of the tau . The experimental techniques to obtain these results are reviewed with special emphasis on the DELPHI measurement. World averages are found to be B( tau to e nu nu )= (17.81+or-0.06) and B( tau to mu nu nu )=(17.36+or-0.06). These results are consistent with universality in the charged current couplings to a precision of about 0.25The branching ratio measurement can also be used to constrain the "low energy parameter" eta . It is shown that the sensitivity to eta depends on details of the momentum acceptance for muon identification in the different experiments. Assuming universality in the couplings, the estimate eta =0.012+or-0.024 is obtained. (19 refs).