This proceedings volume contains the latest results from the field of particle physics. The contributions cover the current status of all the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, the implications of the LHC for cosmology, and the search for dark matter and nuclear astrophysics. It also includes work on the current status of the future International Linear Collider (ILC).

This 2nd edition is an extensive update of "B Decays?. The revisions are necessary because of the extensive amount of new data and new theoretical ideas. This book reviews what is known about b-quark decays and also looks at what can be learned in the future.The importance of this research area is increasing, as evidenced by the approval of the luminosity upgrade for CESR and the asymmetric B factories at SLAC and KEK, and the possibility of experiments at hadron colliders.The key experimental observations made thus far, measurement of the lifetimes of the different B species, B0-B0 mixing, the discovery of ?Penguin? mediated decays, and the extraction of the CKM matrix elements Vub and Vcb from semileptonic decays, as well as more mundane results, are described in great detail by the experimentalists who have been closely involved with making the measurements. Theoretical progress in understanding b-quark decays using HQET and lattice gauge techniques are described by theorists who have developed and used these techniques.Synthesizing the experimental and theoretical information, several articles discuss the implications for the ?Standard Model? and how further tests can be done using measurements of CP violation in the B system.

This book offers the first strong evidence of the existence of CP violation in neutral B decays extracted from sophisticated B factories in the US and Japan. It also holds out the expectation of rare B decays and D, K physics in the near future. In addition, new physics beyond the Standard Model is described. Both experimental and theoretical points of view are given.

The Lake Louise Winter Institute is held annually to explore recent trends in high energy physics in an informal setting. Pedagogical and review lectures are presented by invited experts. A topical workshop is held in conjunction with the Institute, with presentations by participants.

This proceedings volume contains the latest results from the field of particle physics. The contributions cover the current status of all the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, the implications of the LHC for cosmology, and the search for dark matter and nuclear astrophysics. It also includes work on the current status of the future International Linear Collider (ILC).

The Lake Louise Winter Institute is held annually to explore recent trends in high energy physics in an informal setting. Pedagogical and review lectures are presented by invited experts. A topical workshop is held in conjunction with the Institute, with presentations by participants.

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics has withstood thus far every attempt by experimentalists to show that it does not describe data. We discuss the SM in some detail, focusing on the mechanism of fermion mixing, which represents one of its most intriguing aspects. We discuss how this mechanism can be tested in b-quark decays, and how b decays can be used to extract information on physics beyond the SM. We review experimental techniques in b physics, focusing on recent results and highlighting future prospects. Particular attention is devoted to recent results from b decays into a hadron, a lepton and an anti-lepton, that show discrepancies with the SM predictions — the so-called B-physics anomalies — whose statistical significance has been increasing steadily. We discuss these experiments in a detailed manner, and also provide theoretical interpretation of these results in terms of physics beyond the SM.