Abstract
Exclusive semileptonic decays into excited charmed mesons are investigated at order in the heavy quark effective theory. Differential decay rates for each helicity state of the four lightest excited mesons ( and ) are examined. At zero recoil, corrections to the matrix elements of the weak currents can be written in terms of the leading Isgur-Wise functions for the corresponding transition and meson mass splittings. A model independent prediction is found for the slope parameter of the decay rate into helicity zero at zero recoil. The differential decay rates are predicted, including corrections with some model dependence away from zero recoil and including order corrections. Ratios of various exclusive branching ratios are computed. Matrix elements of the weak currents between mesons and other excited charmed mesons are discussed at zero recoil to order These amplitudes vanish at leading order, and can be written at order in terms of local matrix elements. Applications to decay sum rules and factorization are presented.
- Received 30 May 1997
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.57.308
©1998 American Physical Society