Heavy-Quark Effective Theory

Abstract

We give an introduction to the heavy-quark effective theory and the $1/m_Q$ expansion, which provide the modern framework for a systematic, model-independent description of the properties and decays of hadrons containing a heavy quark. We discuss the applications of these concepts to spectroscopy and to the weak decays of $B$ mesons.

45 pages, 11 figures; Lectures presented at the 34th International School of Subnuclear Physics: Effectives Theories and Fundamental Interactions, Erice, Italy, 3-12 July 1996