Observation of B+-->LambdaLambdaK+

We report the first observation of the charmless hyperonic B decay, B+-->LambdaLambdaK+, using a 140 fb(-1) data sample recorded at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB (e+)(e-) collider. The measured branching fraction is B(B+-->LambdaLambdaK+) = (2.91(+0.90)(-0.70) +/- 0.38) x 10(-6). We also perform a search for the related decay mode B+-->LambdaLambdapi+, but do not find a significant signal. We set a 90% confidence-level upper limit of B(B+-->LambdaLambdapi+) < 2.8 x 10(-6).     

Evidence for B+-->omegal+nu

We have searched for the decay B+-->omegal(+)nu (l=e or mu) in 78 fb(-1) of Upsilon(4S) data (85x10(6)BB events) accumulated with the Belle detector. The final state is fully reconstructed using the omega decay into pi(+)pi(-)pi(0), combined with detector hermeticity to estimate the neutrino momentum. A signal of 414+/-125 events is found in the data, corresponding to a branching fraction of (1.3+/-0.4+/-0.2+/-0.3)x10(-4), where the first two errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. The third error reflects the estimated form-factor uncertainty.     

Evidence for B0-->rho0pi0

We present the first evidence of the decay B0-->rho(0)pi(0), using 140 fb(-1) of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e(+)e(-) collider. We detect 15.1+/-4.8 signal events with a significance of 3.5 standard deviations and measure the branching fraction to be B(B0-->rho(0)pi(0))=(5.1+/-1.6(stat)+/-0.9(syst))x10(-6).     

Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decay tau- -->micro-eta at Belle

We have searched for the lepton flavor violating decay tau(-)-->micro(-)eta using a data sample of 84.3 fb(-1) accumulated with the Belle detector at KEK. The eta meson was detected through the decay modes: eta-->gammagamma and pi(+)pi(-)pi(0). No signal candidates are found, and we obtain an upper limit for the branching fraction B(tau(-)-->micro(-)eta)<3.4 x 10(-7) at the 90% confidence level.     

Inclusive measurement of the photon energy spectrum in b --> sgamma decays

We report a fully inclusive measurement of the flavor changing neutral current decay b --> sgamma in the energy range 1.8 GeV < or = E*gamma < or = 2.8 GeV, covering 95% of the total spectrum. Using 140 fb(-1), we obtain B(b --> sgamma) = (3.55+/-0.32(+0.30+0.11)(-0.31-0.07)) x 10(-4), where the errors are statistical, systematic, and from theory corrections. We also measure the first and second moments of the photon energy spectrum above 1.8 GeV and obtain (Egamma) = 2.292+/-0.026+/-0.034 GeV and (E2gamma) - (Egamma)2 = 0.0305+/-0.0074+/-0.0063 GeV2, where the errors are statistical and systematic.     

Observation of B(0)-->D((*)0)pp

The B meson decay modes B-->Dpp; and B-->D(*)pp; have been studied using 29.4 fb(-1) of data collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. The B;(0)-->D(0)pp; and B;(0)-->D(*0)pp; decays have been observed for the first time with branching fractions B(B;(0)-->D(0)pp;)=(1.18+/-0.15+/-0.16)x10(-4) and B(B;(0)-->D(*0)pp;)=(1.20(+0.33)(-0.29)+/-0.21)x10(-4). No signal has been found for the B+-->D(+)pp; and B+-->D(*+)pp; decay modes, and the corresponding upper limits at 90% C.L. are presented.     

Precise measurement of B meson lifetimes with hadronic decay final states

The lifetimes of the B(0) and B- mesons are extracted from 29.1 fb(-1) of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEK B factory. A fit to the decay length differences of neutral and charged B meson pairs, measured in events where one of the B mesons is fully reconstructed in several hadronic modes, yields tau(B(0)) = 1.554+/-0.030(stat)+/-0.019(syst) ps, tau(B-) = 1.695+/-0.026(stat)+/-0.015(syst) ps, and tau(B-)/tau(B(0)) = 1.091+/-0.023(stat)+/-0.014(syst).     

Observation of chi(c2) production in B meson decay

We report the first observation of chi(c2) production in B meson decays. We find an inclusive B-->chi(c2)X branching fraction of (1.80(+0.23)(-0.28)+/-0.26) x 10(-3). The data set, collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e(-) collider, consists of 31.9 x 10(6) BB events. We also present branching fractions and momentum spectra for both chi(c1) and chi(c2) production.     

From alkyl halides to alkyltrifluoromethyls using bromine trifluoride

Under the right conditions, bromine trifluoride can be a useful tool for generating new types of reactions and compounds. Thus, tris(methylthio)alkyl derivatives, easily prepared from the corresponding alkyl bromides, were converted to the corresponding RCHBrCF2SMe or RCHBrCF3 compounds. The bromine atom, however, could be easily reduced forming eventually R'CF2SMe or R'CF3. If desired, the bromine atom can serve as an entry for constructing terminal difluoroolefins.