CP Nonconservation in Decays of W and Z Bosons

The possibility of CP asymmetries in decays of W and Z bosons is examined. The asymmetries studied are the differences in the branching ratios of charge-conjugate modes such as W+tb» vs W-t»b or Zb»s vs Zbs» In the standard model, with three generations, such effects are found to be vanishingly small. With four generations, flavor-changing transitions such as Zbs» or bb» may be observable, but the prospects for observing CP asymmetries appear discouraging. We also discuss the situation in some other models of CP nonconservation. © 1986 The American Physical Society.