Measurements of B(Ds -> lvl) and fDs using data collected from the BaBar experiment

Abstract

This thesis presents measurements of the branching fractions B(Ds -> lvl) and measurements of the pseudoscalar decay constant, fDs , using all the data acquired at the BaBar detector at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which were collected from September 1999 to April 2007, and comprised 531 fb-1. The following mea- surements are made: B(Ds -> eve) = (6:11 +/-0:38 +/- 0:33) * 10-3, B(Ds -> tvt) = (5:06 +/- 0:34 +/- 0:50) * 10-2 , and a limit B(Ds -> eve) < 1:46 * 10-4 is obtained. Using these measurements a value of fDs = 252 +/- 6 +/- 7 +/- 1MeV is obtained, where the first uncertainties account for the statistical limitations of the data, the second uncertainties account for the systematic uncertainties, and the third uncertainties account for uncertainties associated with other physical constants (dominated by the lifetime of the Ds meson).