Evolution equation for the shape function in the parton model approach to inclusive B decays

Abstract

We derive an evolution equation for the shape function of the b quark in an analogous way to the Altarelli-Parisi equation by incorporating the perturbative QCD correction to the inclusive semileptonic decays of the B meson. Since the parton picture works well for inclusive B decays due to the heavy mass of the b quark, the scaling feature manifests and the decay rate may be expressed by a single structure function describing the light-cone distribution of the b quark apart from the kinematic factor. The evolution equation introduces a q(2) dependence of the shape function and violates the scaling properties. We solve the evolution equation and discuss the phenomenological implication.