CKM UPDATE, B(0)-(B(0))OVER-BAR MIXINGS AND RARE B-DECAYS - A REVIEW

We review the current status of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix for quark mixing. The updated matrix is used to obtain a profile of the CKM unitarity triangle and estimates of the CP violating phases sin 2alpah, sin 2beta and sin2 gamma that will be measured in neutral B meson decays. Measurements of the aforementioned CP asymmetries, B(s)0-B(s)0BAR mixing and rare B decays will overconstraint the CKM unitarity triangle, thereby determining the mixing matrix precisely and possibly providing hints of physics beyond the standard model. The role of the B0-B0BAR mixing ratio x(s)/x(d) (equivalently the mass difference ratio DELTAM(s)/DELTAM(d)) and the CKM-suppressed rare B decays in restricting the unitarity triangle is emphasized. The potential of rare B decays in searching for new physics involving flavor changing neutral current transitions, in particular B --> X(s)l+l- and B(s) --> l+ l-, is also briefly discussed.