Radiative and EW Penguin B Decays with the Belle Detector

Abstract

Radiative B decays which are described by electroweak penguin or box diagrams are an extremely interesting field to test the Standard Model (SM) and search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Many modes were added to the list of radiative B decays in the last years and in some channels the statistics is sufficient to allow for measurements of e.g. CP and isospin asymmetries. Theoretical and systematic errors cancel largely in these ratios and measurements represent a sensitive tool for tests of the Standard Model. In purely leptonic B decays, the observation of certain decay modes would hint directly to new physics processes, as most of the branching fractions in the Standard Model are beyond the reach of current statistics in the B factories. This paper will summarize recent results from the Belle collaboration and will give a status of the current situation and future prospects of radiative and rare B decays.