Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Normalizing the recent LHCb measurement of Λb→Λcτν¯ to the standard model (SM) prediction for the Λb→Λcμν¯ rate, instead of a LEP measurement, provides a more consistent comparison with the SM prediction for the lepton flavor universality ratio R(Λc). This modestly increases R(Λc) compared to the quoted LHCb result, such that it no longer hints at a suppression compared to the SM, which would be hard to accommodate in new physics scenarios that enhance R(D(∗)). We point out that the fraction of excited states in inclusive semileptonic Λb decay may be significantly greater than the corresponding fraction in B decays. Possible implications are speculated upon.