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In this report we present the status of the Mainz group's lattice QCD calculation of the pion transition form factor, which describes the interaction of an on-shell pion with two off-shell photons. This form factor is the main ingredient in the calculation of the pion-pole contribution to hadronic light-by-light scattering in the muon $g-2$. We use the $N_f = 2 + 1$ CLS gauge ensembles, and we update our previous work by including a physical pion mass ensemble (E250). We compute the transition form factor in a moving frame as well as in the pion rest frame in order to have access to a wider range of photon virtualities. In addition to the quark-line connected correlator we also compute the quark-line disconnected diagrams that contribute to the form factor. At the final stage of the analysis, the result on E250 will be combined with the previous work published in 2019 to extrapolate the form factor to the continuum and to physical quark masses., Comment: Proceedings of the 40th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2023), July 31st - August 4th, 2023, Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois, USA

We present a comprehensive review of purely leptonic and semileptonic decays of $D^{0(+)}$, $D_s^{+}$, and charmed baryons (including $\Lambda_c^{+}$, $\Xi_c$ and $\Omega_c$). The precise studies of these decays help deepen our understanding and knowledge of quantum chromodynamics via measuring decay constants and form factors, and test the Standard Model through examining the unitarity of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix and lepton flavor universality. We give an overview of the theoretical and experimental tools before discussing the recent progress. The data sets collected by BESIII near the production thresholds of $D\bar{D}$, $D_s^{(*)+}D_s^{(*)-}$ and $\Lambda_c^{+}\bar{\Lambda}_c^{-}$ offer important opportunities for studies of charm physics., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures

The isovector axial form factor of the nucleon plays a key role in interpreting data from long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We present a lattice QCD calculation of this form factor, introducing a new method to directly extract its z-expansion from lattice correlators. Our final parameterization of the form factor, which extends up to spacelike virtualities of 0.7 GeV^2 with fully quantified uncertainties, agrees with previous lattice calculations but is significantly less steep than neutrino-deuterium scattering data suggests., Comment: Proceeding for the 39th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice2022), 8th-13th August 2022, Bonn, Germany

The isovector axial form factor of the nucleon plays a key role in interpreting data from long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We perform a lattice-QCD based calculation of this form factor, introducing a new method to directly extract its $z$-expansion from lattice correlators. Our final parametrization of the form factor, which extends up to spacelike virtualities of $0.7\,{\rm GeV}^2$ with fully quantified uncertainties, agrees with previous lattice calculations but is significantly less steep than neutrino-deuterium scattering data suggests., Comment: 6 pages + 6 pages supplementary material; (3+6) figures; 2 tables in suppl.mat

Lattice quantum chromodynamics has proven to be an indispensable method to determine nonperturbative strong contributions to weak decay processes. In this white paper for the Snowmass community planning process we highlight achievements and future avenues of research for lattice calculations of weak $b$ and $c$ quark decays, and point out how these calculations will help to address the anomalies currently in the spotlight of the particle physics community. With future increases in computational resources and algorithmic improvements, percent level (and below) lattice determinations will play a central role in constraining the standard model or identifying new physics., Comment: contribution to Snowmass 2021; 19 pages; v2 corrected typo and added references

Using a fully relativistic lattice fermion action, we compute the form factors of the semileptonic decay $B\to\pi\ell\nu$, which is required for the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{ub}|$. We employ the M\"{o}bius domain-wall fermion formalism for the generation of lattice ensembles with 2+1 sea quark flavours as well as for the valence heavy and light quarks. We compute the form factors at various values of the lattice spacing and multiple light and heavy quark masses, and extrapolate the results to the physical point. We combine our lattice results with the available experimental data to obtain $|V_{ub}| = (3.93\pm 0.41)\times 10^{-3}$., Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 12 tables. Plus supplemental material: 20 pages, 7 figures, 8 tables. Updated to reflect minor changes in published version, including additional references

We present the analysis of isovector axial vector nucleon form factors on a set of $N_f=2+1$ CLS ensembles with $\mathcal O(a)$-improved Wilson fermions and L\"uscher-Weisz gauge action. The set of ensembles covers a pion mass range of $130-353\,$MeV with lattice spacings between $0.05\,$fm and $0.09\,$fm. In particular, the set includes a $L/a=96$ ensemble at the physical pion mass. For the purpose of the form factor extraction, we employ both the summed operator insertion method (summation method) and explicit two-state fits in order to account for excited-state contributions to the nucleon correlation functions. To describe the $Q^{2}$-behavior of the form factors, we perform $z$-expansion fits. Finally, we present HBChPT-inspired chiral and continuum extrapolations of the axial charge and radius., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Talk presented at the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2021), 26-30 July, 2021, Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

We report on a calculation of form factors for the semileptonic decay of $B$ meson to pion on $2+1$-flavour lattices with lattice spacings from 0.080 fm down to 0.044 fm. Using the M\"obius domain wall fermion action for both sea and valence quarks, we simulate pions with masses down to 225 MeV. By utilizing a range of heavy quark masses up to 2.44 times the mass of the charm quark we extrapolate to the physical $b$ quark mass. We discuss the dependence of the form factors on the pion mass, heavy quark mass, lattice spacing and the momentum-transfer. We extract the CKM matrix element $|V_{ub}|$ through a simultaneous fit with the $B \to \pi\ell\nu$ differential branching fractions provided by the Belle and BaBar collaborations after a chiral-continuum and physical $b$ quark extrapolations of our lattice data., Comment: 7 pages, Presented at the 37th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory - Lattice2019, 16-22 June 2019, Wuhan, China

We present a lattice QCD determination of light quark masses with three sea-quark flavours ($N_f = 2+1$). Bare quark masses are known from PCAC relations in the framework of CLS lattice computations with a non-perturbatively improved Wilson-Clover action and a tree-level Symanzik improved gauge action. They are fully non-perturbatively improved, including the recently computed Symanzik counter-term $b_{\rm A} - b_{\rm P}$. The mass renormalisation at hadronic scales and the renormalisation group running over a wide range of scales are known non-perturbatively in the Schr\"odinger functional scheme. In the present paper we perform detailed extrapolations to the physical point, obtaining (for the four-flavour theory) $m_{u/d}(2{\rm GeV}) = 3.54(12)(9)$ MeV and $m_s(2{\rm GeV}) = 95.7(2.5)(2.4)$ MeV in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme. For the mass ratio we have $m_s/m_{u/d} = 27.0(1.0)(0.4)$. The RGI values in the three-flavour theory are $M_{u/d} = 4.70(15)(12)$ MeV and $M_s = 127.0(3.1)(3.2)$ MeV., Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures. Published version of the paper. The present version contains additions and improvements proposed by the referee; the results remain unchanged

We report on a calculation of $B_c$ ground state and radial excitation energies, obtained from heavy-charm highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) correlators computed on MILC gauge ensembles, with lattice spacings down to $a=0.044$ fm. Using HISQ valence quarks on progressively finer lattices allows us to simulate up to the $b$-quark mass. In particular we focus on the $B_c(2S)$ energy, which we compare with O(\alpha_s)-improved non-relativistic QCD results computed on the same ensembles and recent experimental results from ATLAS., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Presented at the 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 22-28, 2018, East Lansing, MI, USA

We introduce a new method for calculating the ${\rm O}(\alpha^3)$ hadronic-vacuum-polarization contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment from ${ab-initio}$ lattice QCD. We first derive expressions suitable for computing the higher-order contributions either from the renormalized vacuum polarization function $\hat\Pi(q^2)$, or directly from the lattice vector-current correlator in Euclidean space. We then demonstrate the approach using previously-published results for the Taylor coefficients of $\hat\Pi(q^2)$ that were obtained on four-flavor QCD gauge-field configurations with physical light-quark masses. We obtain $10^{10} a_\mu^{\rm HVP,HO} = -9.3(1.3)$, in agreement with, but with a larger uncertainty than, determinations from $e^+e^- \to {\rm hadrons}$ data plus dispersion relations., Comment: Expanded and clarified discussion and revised Figure 4. Results unchanged. 11 pages, 5 tables, 5 figures. Version accepted to Physical Review D

We present the first calculation of the pion electromagnetic form factor at physical light quark masses. This form factor parameterises the deviations from the behaviour of a point-like particle when a photon hits the pion. These deviations result from the internal structure of the pion and can thus be calculated in QCD. We use three sets (different lattice spacings) of $n_f = 2+1+1$ lattice configurations generated by the MILC collaboration. The Highly Improved Staggered Quark formalism (HISQ) is used for all of the sea and valence quarks. Using lattice configurations with $u$/$d$ quark masses very close to the physical value is a big advantage, as we avoid the chiral extrapolation. We study the shape of the vector ($f_+$) form factor in the $q^2$ range from $0$ to $-0.15$~GeV$^2$ and extract the mean square radius, $\langle r^2_v\rangle$. The shape of the vector form factor and the resulting radius is compared with experiment. We also discuss the scalar form factor and radius extracted from that, which is not directly accessible to experiment. We have also calculated the contributions from the disconnected diagrams to the scalar form factor at small $q^2$ and discuss their impact on the scalar radius $\langle r^2_s\rangle$., Comment: Talk presented at the 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2015), 14-18 July 2015, Kobe, Japan

Measurements and theoretical calculations of meson form factors are essential for our understanding of internal hadron structure and QCD, the dynamics that bind the quarks in hadrons. The pion electromagnetic form factor has been measured at small space-like momentum transfer $|q^2| < 0.3$~GeV$^2$ by pion scattering from atomic electrons and at values up to $2.5$~GeV$^2$ by scattering electrons from the pion cloud around a proton. On the other hand, in the limit of very large (or infinite) $Q^2=-q^2$, perturbation theory is applicable. This leaves a gap in the intermediate $Q^2$ where the form factors are not known. As a part of their 12 GeV upgrade Jefferson Lab will measure pion and kaon form factors in this intermediate region, up to $Q^2$ of $6$~GeV$^2$. This is then an ideal opportunity for lattice QCD to make an accurate prediction ahead of the experimental results. Lattice QCD provides a from-first-principles approach to calculate form factors, and the challenge here is to control the statistical and systematic uncertainties as errors grow when going to higher $Q^2$ values. Here we report on a calculation that tests the method using an $\eta_s$ meson, a 'heavy pion' made of strange quarks, and also present preliminary results for kaon and pion form factors. We use the $n_f=2+1+1$ ensembles made by the MILC collaboration and Highly Improved Staggered Quarks, which allows us to obtain high statistics. The HISQ action is also designed to have small discretisation errors. Using several light quark masses and lattice spacings allows us to control the chiral and continuum extrapolation and keep systematic errors in check., Comment: Presented at Lattice 2017, the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory at Granada, Spain (18-24 June 2017)

The quark flavor sector of the Standard Model is a fertile ground to look for new physics effects through a unitarity test of the Cabbibo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix. We present a lattice QCD calculation of the scalar and the vector form factors (over a large $q^2$ region including $q^2 = 0$) associated with the $D \rightarrow Kl{\nu}$ semi-leptonic decay. This calculation will then allow us to determine the central CKM matrix element, $V_{cs}$ in the Standard Model, by comparing the lattice QCD results for the form factors and the experimental decay rate. This form factor calculation has been performed on the $N_f =2+1+1$ MILC HISQ ensembles with the physical light quark masses., Comment: Proceedings for the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2017), 8 pages, 5 figures

We calculate semileptonic form factors for the decays $B_c \to \eta_c \, l \nu$ and $B_c \to J/\psi \, l \nu$ over the entire $q^2$ range, using a highly improved lattice quark action for charm at several lattice spacings down to $a=0.045$ fm. We have two ways of treating the $b$ quark: either with an $O(\alpha_s)$ improved NRQCD formalism or by extrapolating a heavy mass $m_h$ to $m_b$ in the relativistic formalism. Comparison of the two approaches provides an important cross-check of methodologies in lattice QCD. Nonperturbative renormalisation of the currents in the relativistic theory also allows us then to fix NRQCD-charm normalisation for $b$ to $c$ decays such as $B \to D$ and $B \to D^*$., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Talk presented at the 34th annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 24-30 July 2016, University of Southampton, UK

We present first lattice QCD results for semileptonic form factors for the decays $B_c \to \eta_c l \nu$ and $B_c \to J/\psi l \nu$ over the full $q^2$ range, using both improved non-relativistic QCD (NRQCD) and fully relativistic (HISQ) formalisms. These can be viewed as prototype calculations for pseudoscalar to pseudoscalar and pseudoscalar to vector decays involving a $b \to c$ transition. In particular we can use information from the relativistic computations to fix the NRQCD current normalisations, which can then be used in improved computations of decays such as $B \to D l \nu$ and $B \to D^* l \nu$., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. Poster presented at the 16th International Conference on B-Physics at Frontier Machines, 2-6 May 2016, Marseille, France

We report our (HPQCD) progress on the calculation of the Hadronic Vacuum Polarisation contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of muon. In this article we discuss the calculations for the light (up/down) quark connected contribution using our method described in Phys.Rev. D89(2014) 11, 114501 and give an estimate for the disconnected contribution. Our calculation has been carried out on MILC Collaboration's $n_f = 2+1+1$ HISQ ensembles at multiple values of the lattice spacing, multiple volumes and multiple light sea quark masses (including physical pion mass configurations)., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, The 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory

The HPQCD collaboration has used radiatively-improved NonRelativistic QCD (NRQCD) for $b$ quarks in bottomonium to determine the decay rate of $\Upsilon$ and $\Upsilon^\prime$ mesons to leptons in lattice QCD. Using time-moments of vector bottomonium current-current correlators, we are also able to determine the $b$ quark mass in the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme. We use the same NRQCD $b$ quarks and Highly Improved Staggered Quark (HISQ) light quarks -- with masses down to their physical values -- to give a complete picture of heavy-light meson decay constants including those for vector mesons. We also study the semileptonic $B\rightarrow\pi\ell\nu$ decay at zero recoil to show that lattice QCD is consistent with the soft pion theorem for this decay: $f_0(q^2_{\mathrm{max}})=f_B/f_\pi$ in the massless pion limit. Finally, we present preliminary results for the $B_c \rightarrow \eta_c \ell \nu$ semileptonic decay form factors. This is a showcase for the comparison of results for NRQCD $b$ quarks with those from HISQ $b$ quarks (both with HISQ $c$ quarks). We give the first 3-point results from our `heavy HISQ' programme, which will allow us to improve the normalisation of NRQCD-HISQ currents for other calculations., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, Talk presented at the 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2015), 14-18 July 2015, Kobe International Conference Center, Kobe, Japan

This paper is a review of recent lattice QCD results for $D$ and $D_s$ meson leptonic and semileptonic decays. The theory inputs needed for the determination of $V_{cd}$ and $V_{cs}$ from experimental results are the meson decay constants (leptonic decays) and the form factors (semileptonic decays). In addition one can compare the shape of the form factors from lattice QCD and experiment, and use the full experimental $q^2$ range (partial decay rates in $q^2$ bins) to determine the CKM matrix elements., Comment: Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle (CKM 2014), Vienna, Austria, September 8-12, 2014

We describe a new technique (published in Phys. Rev. D89 114501) to determine the contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon coming from the hadronic vacuum polarisation using lattice QCD. Our method uses Pad\'e approximants to reconstruct the Adler function from its derivatives at $q^2=0$. These are obtained simply and accurately from time-moments of the vector current-current correlator at zero spatial momentum. We test the method using strange quark correlators calculated on MILC Collaboration's $n_f = 2+1+1$ HISQ ensembles at multiple values of the lattice spacing, multiple volumes and multiple light sea quark masses (including physical pion mass configurations). We find the (connected) contribution to the anomalous moment from the strange quark vacuum polarisation to be $a^s_\mu=53.41(59)\times 10^{-10}$, and the contribution from charm quarks to be $a^c_\mu=14.42(39)\times 10^{-10}$ - 1% accuracy is achieved for the strange quark contribution. The extension of our method to the light quark contribution and to that from the quark-line disconnected diagram is straightforward., Comment: Talk presented in the 37 International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP 2014)

We describe a new technique (presented in arXiv:1403.1778) to determine the contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment (g-2) of the muon coming from the hadronic vacuum polarisation using lattice QCD. Our method uses Pad\'{e} approximants to reconstruct the Adler function from its derivatives at $q^2=0$. These are obtained simply and accurately from time-moments of the vector current-current correlator at zero spatial momentum. We test the method using strange quark correlators calculated on MILC Collaboration's $n_f$ = 2+1+1 HISQ ensembles at multiple values of the lattice spacing, multiple volumes and multiple light sea quark masses (including physical pion mass configurations)., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, a talk presented at 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory - LATTICE 2014, June 23 - June 28, 2014, NY, USA

The Fermilab Lattice and MILC collaborations have shown in one-loop lattice QCD perturbation theory that the renormalization constants of vector and axial-vector mixed clover-asqtad currents are closely related to the product of those for clover-clover and asqtad-asqtad (local) vector currents. To be useful for future higher precision calculations this relationship must be valid beyond one-loop and very general. We test its validity nonperturbatively using clover and Highly Improved Staggered (HISQ) strange quarks, utilising the absolute normalization of the HISQ temporal axial current. We find that the renormalization of the mixed current differs from the square root of the product of the pure HISQ and pure clover currents by $2-3\%$. We also compare discretization errors between the clover and HISQ formalisms., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, a talk presented at 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory - LATTICE 2013, July 29 - August 3, 2013, Mainz, Germany

We have studied transitions between vector and pseudoscalar mesons using the HISQ action for the valence quarks. We have calculated all of the axial and vector form factors that appear in the decay rate for $D_s \to \phi \ell \nu$ over the full $q^2$ range and compared them to the shape of the experimental decay distributions. We use nonperturbatively normalised currents for the vector and axial vector currents. The same set up for the three point correlations functions also allow us to study radiative decays and we have calculated the decay rate for $J/\psi \to \eta_c \gamma$., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

This review article summarizes recent lattice QCD results for $D$ and $D_s$ meson leptonic and semileptonic decays. Knowing the meson decay constants and semileptonic form factors from theory, one can extract CKM elements $V_{cd}$ and $V_{cs}$ from experimental results. At present, the most accurate results for decay constants are from the Fermilab Lattice and MILC Collaborations: $f_D = 212.5 \pm 0.5_{\mathrm{stat}} {}^{+0.6}_{-1.5} |_{\mathrm{syst}}$ MeV and $f_{D_s} = 248.9 \pm 0.2_{\mathrm{stat}} {}^{+0.5}_{-1.6}|_{\mathrm{syst}}$ MeV, giving $V_{cd} = 0.2184 \pm 0.009_{\mathrm{expt}} {}^{+0.0008}_{-0.0016} |_{\mathrm{lattice}}$ and $V_{cs} = 1.017 \pm 0.02_{\mathrm{expt}} {}^{+0.002}_{-0.007} |_{\mathrm{lattice}}$. The shapes of the semileptonic form factors from lattice QCD agree very well with experiment, and the accuracy is currently at the 2-5% level for $D \to \pi\ell\nu$ and 1-2% for $D \to K\ell\nu$. Extracting the CKM elements from the semileptonic decays yields $V_{cd} = 0.225(6)_{\mathrm{expt}}(10)_{\mathrm{lattice}}$ (HPQCD Collaboration) and $V_{cs} = 0.963(5)_{\mathrm{expt}}(14)_{\mathrm{lattice}}$ (HPQCD Collaboration). These lattice calculations also revealed that the semileptonic form factors are insensitive to whether the spectator quark is a light or strange quark., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of The 6th International Workshop on Charm Physics (CHARM 2013)

We present preliminary results from the first calculation of the pion electromagnetic form factor at physical light quark masses. This form factor parameterises the deviations from the behaviour of a point-like particle when a photon hits the pion. These deviations result from the internal structure of the pion and can thus be calculated in QCD. We use three sets (different lattice spacings) of n_f=2+1+1 lattice configurations generated by the MILC collaboration. The Highly Improved Staggered Quark formalism (HISQ) is used for all of the sea and valence quarks. Using lattice configurations with u/d quark masses very close to the physical value is an advantage, as we avoid the chiral extrapolation. We study the shape of the vector (f_+) form factor in the q^2 range from 0 to -0.12 GeV^2 and extract the mean square radius, . The shape of the vector form factor and the resulting radius is compared with experiment., Comment: Presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

We calculate axial vector and vector form factors for the semileptonic decay Ds to phi using HISQ valence quarks on MILC ensembles with 2+1 flavours of asqtad sea quarks. Using twisted boundary conditions to tune the quarks' momenta, we compute form factors at q^2 = 0 on coarse lattices. We find V(0)=0.903(67), A_1(0)= 0.603(20), A_2(0)=0.401(80) and A_0(0)=0.686(17), which we compare to experimental data and previous quenched lattice QCD calculations., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures.Contribution to the XXIX International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory - Lattice 2011, July 2011, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, California

We present a new and very high statistics study of D and D_s semileptonic decay form factors on the lattice. We work with MILC N_f=2+1 lattices and use the Highly Improved Staggered Action (HISQ) for both the charm and the light valence quarks. We use both scalar and vector currents to determine the form factors f_0(q^2) and f_+(q^2) for a range of D and D_s form factors including those for D to pi and D to K semileptonic decays. By using a phased boundary condition we are able to tune accurately to q^2=0. We also compare the shape in q^2 to that from experiment. We show that the form factors are very insensitive to the spectator quark: D to K and D_s to eta_s form factors are essentially the same, and the same is true for D to pi and D_s to K. This has important implications when considering the corresponding B/B_s processes., Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, talk given at the XXIX International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 10-16, 2011, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, CA

We present a new calculation of the $D \rightarrow \pi, l \nu$ semileptonic form factor $f^{D \rightarrow \pi}_+(q^2)$ at $q^2 = 0$ based on HISQ charm and light valence quarks on MILC $N_f = 2 +1$ lattices. Using methods developed recently for HPQCD's study of $D \rightarrow K, l \nu$ decays, we find $f^{D \rightarrow \pi}_+(0) = 0.666(29)$. This signifies a better than factor of two improvement in errors for this quantity compared to previous calculations. Combining the new result with CLEO-c branching fraction data, we extract the CKM matrix element $|V_{cd}| = 0.225(6)_{exp.}(10)_{lat.}$, where the first error comes from experiment and the second from theory. With a total error of $\sim5.3$\% the accuracy of direct determination of $|V_{cd}|$ from $D$ semileptonic decays has become comparable to (and in good agreement with) that from neutrino scattering. We also check for second row unitarity using this new $|V_{cd}|$, HPQCD's earlier $|V_{cs}|$ and $|V_{cb}|$ from the Fermilab Lattice \& MILC collaborations. We find $|V_{cd}|^2 + |V_{cs}|^2 + |V_{cb}|^2 = 0.976(50)$, improving on the current PDG2010 value., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, and 4 tables

The current-current correlator method has been used successfully to obtain very accurate results for quark masses and the coupling alpha_s. The calculations were done using Highly Improved Staggered Quarks (HISQ) and heavy-heavy meson correlators. We now extend this work to the significantly more challenging heavy-light case, reporting the first results here. The aim is to determine nonperturbative Z factors for NRQCD heavy-light currents, but first we test the method in the HISQ case where Z=1., Comment: 7 pages. Presented at the XXVIII International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2010), June 14-19 2010, Villasimius, Italy

We give the first accurate results for $B$ and $B_s$ meson masses from lattice QCD including the effect of $u$, $d$ and $s$ sea quarks, and we improve an earlier value for the $B_c$ meson mass. By using the Highly Improved Staggered Quark action for $u/d$, $s$ and $c$ quarks and NRQCD for the $b$ quarks, we are able to achieve an accuracy in the masses of around 10 MeV. Our results are: $m_B$ = 5.291(18) GeV, $m_{B_s}$ = 5.363(11) GeV and $m_{B_c}$ = 6.280(10) GeV. Note that all QCD parameters here are tuned from other calculations, so these are parameter free tests of QCD against experiment. We also give scalar, $B_{s0}^*$, and axial vector, $B_{s1}$, meson masses. We find these to be slightly below threshold for decay to $BK$ and $B^*K$ respectively., Comment: 22 pages, 19 figures