In the field of particle physics BaBar is an international collaboration at the Stanford Linear Accelerator investigating CP-violation effects using the BaBar particle detector. If the CP symmetry holds, the decay rate of B-meson particles and their anti-particles should be equal. Analysis of the BaBar results showed this was not the case - in the summer of 2002, definitive results were published based on the analysis of 87 million B/B-bar meson-pair events, clearly showing the decay rates were not equal. Consistent results were also gathered in the BELLE experiment at the KEK laboratory in Japan.

CP-violation was already predicted by the Standard Model of physics but the BaBar detector has increased the accuracy to which this effect has been experimentally measured. Currently results are in agreement with the standard model, but further investigation of a greater variety of decay modes may reveal discrepancies in the future.

External link: Official BaBar Website