Measurement of charmless semileptonic decays of B mesons

Using the CLEO II detector and a sample of 955 000 Υ(4S) decays we have confirmed charmless semileptonic decays of B mesons. In the momentum interval 2.3-2.6 GeV/c we observe an excess of 107±15±11 leptons, which we attribute to b→ulν. This result yields a model-dependent range of values for Vub/Vcb that is lower than has been obtained in previous studies. For the inclusive spectator model of Altarelli et al. we find Vub/Vcb=0.076±0.008. Models that describe b→ulν with a limited set of exclusive final states give Vub/Vcb=0.06-0.10. © 1993 The American Physical Society.