Probing right-handed currents in B -> K*l(+)l(-) transitions

We discuss a possibility to probe right-handed weak hadronic currents in ra re semileptonic b --> s transitions. It is shown that within models involvi ng right-handed as well as left-handed quark currents (LR models) one can e xpect a strong enhancement of the right-handed K* production in B --> K* l( +)l(-) decays compared with models including only left-handed quark current s (SM, MSSM). Hence an experimental study of the transverse asymmetry of th e produced K* mesons provides a clear test of the presence of the right-han ded quark currents and a possibiltity to discriminate between the MSSM and LR extentions of the SM. At the same time, MSSM and LR models are found to yield qualitatively the same type of deviations from the SM in the forward- backward and the longitudinal lepton polarization asymmetries. (C) 1998 Pub lished by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.