Lepton asymmetries in exclusive b→sℓ+ℓ− decays as a test of the standard model

We argue that the longitudinal lepton polarization and the forward-backward asymmetries in exclusive B→(K,K∗)ℓ+ℓ− decays are largely unaffected by the theoretical uncertainties in the long-distance contributions both induced by the long-range charming penguins in the ℓ+ℓ− channel and those in the meson channels encoded in the meson transition form factors, and are mainly determined by the short-distance Wilson coefficients at the low-energy scale μ≃mb. Thus, the abovementioned asymmetries provide a powerful probe of the Standard Model and its extensions.