Measurement of the B̄→D*lν̄ branching fractions and -Vcb-

We study the exclusive semileptonic B meson decays B-→D*0l-ν̄ and B̄0→D*+l-ν̄ using data collected with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron-positron Storage Ring (CESR). We present measurements of the branching fractions scrB(B̄0→D*+l-ν̄)= (0.5/f00)[4.49±0.32(stat.)±0.39 (syst.)]% and scrB(B-→D*0l-(ν̄)= (0.5/f+-)[5.13±0.54 (stat) ±0.64 (syst)]%, where f00 and f+- are the neutral and charged B meson production fractions at the Υ(4S) resonance, respectively. Assuming isospin invariance and taking the ratio of charged to neutral B meson lifetimes measured at higher energy machines, we determine the ratio f+-/f00=1.04±0.13 (stat) ±0.12 (syst) ±0.10 (lifetime); further assuming f+-+f00=1 we also determine the partial width Γ(B̄→D*lν̄)=[29.9±1.9 (stat) ±2.7 (syst.) ±2.0 (lifetime)] ns-1 (independent of f+-/f00). From this partial width we calculate B̄→D*lν̄ branching fractions that do not depend on f+-/f00 or the individual B lifetimes, but only on the charged to neutral B lifetime ratio. The product of the CKM matrix element -Vcb- times the normalization of the decay form factor at the point of no recoil of the D* meson, scrF(y=1), is determined from a linear fit to the combined differential decay rate of the exclusive B̄→D*lν̄ decays: -Vcb-scrF(1)=0.0351±0.0019 (stat) ±0.0018 (syst) ±0.0008 (lifetime). The value for -Vcb- is extracted using theoretical calculations of the form factor normalization. © 1995 The American Physical Society.