Janis McKenna
University of British Columbia

CP Violation in the B Meson System

Modern Big Bang theories in particle astrophysics tend to predict equal
quantities of matter and antimatter in our universe.  CP violation, first
observed 38 years ago in the neutral kaon system, has now also been
observed in the B meson system and will be a key element in understanding
the matter-antimatter asymmetry in our universe. Our Standard Model of
Particle Physics accommodates CP violation, but at a level orders of
magnitude too small to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry.

In studying the decays of millions of B mesons using the BaBar detector at
the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) B Factory, we have been
examining CP violation and measuring CP violating parameters in the B
meson system to great precision. We hope to ascertain the origin of CP
violation and find hints of physics beyond the Standard Model, which may
help in reconciling CP violation's role in the matter-antimatter asymmetry
of the universe.  The experiment, recent results and outlook will be
presented.