B-C MESON WEAK DECAYS AND CP VIOLATION

The form factors for B-c transitions are calculated with a relativisti c constituent quark model based on the Bethe-Salpeter formalism. The r ates for some semileptonic and nonleptonic B, weak decays and CP-viola ting asymmetries for two-body hardonic B, decays are estimated as well . The calculated widths are compared with those predicted in other qua rk models of mesons. For the most promising signatures for the discove ry of B,: B-c --> psi l nu --> (l'(+) l'(-))l nu and B-c --> psi pi -- > (l'(+) l'(-))pi (with l' = e or mu), the combined branching ratios a re, respectively, estimated to be 1.06 x 10(-3) and 4.8a(1)(2) x 10(-5 ) for tau(Bc) = 0.5 ps and as large as 2.56 x 10(-3) and 1.15a(1)(2) x 10(-4) for tau(Bc) = 1.2 ps. There are large CP-violating effects in some B-c decay modes, and the rates for some of these (e.g., B-c --> p si D, eta(c)D, and eta(c)D*, etc.) are large too.