On the unitarity triangles of the CKM matrix

Abstract The unitarity triangles of the 3 × 3 Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix are studied in a systematic way. We show that the phases of the nine CKM rephasing invariants are indeed the outer angles of the six unitarity triangles and measurable in the CP -violating decay modes of B d and B s mesons. An economical notation system is introduced for describing properties of the unitarity triangles. To test unitarity of the CKM matrix we present some approximate but useful relations among the sides and angles of the unitarity triangles, which can be confronted with the accessible experiments of quark mixing and CP violation.