Paper detail

Reducing the Error on alpha in B-> pi pi, rho rho, rho pi

Theoretical errors in the extraction of alpha from B -> pi^+ pi^-, rho^+ rho^-, rho pi decays are usually given in terms of upper bounds on alpha_eff-alpha obtained from isospin or from SU(3) relations, where alpha_eff is measured through CP asymmetries. We show that mild assumptions about magnitudes and strong phases of penguin and tree amplitudes (|P/T| < 1 and |delta| < pi/2) in B -> pi pi and B -> rho rho, imply alpha_eff > alpha, thus reducing by a factor two the error in alpha. Similarly, the assumptions |p_+-/t_+-| < 1, |δ_-| < pi/2 <|δ_+| in B -> rho pi lead to a cancellation between two terms in alpha_eff-alpha. Current data support these conditions.