Measurement of Z<SUP>0</SUP> → bb̅ decay properties

We have measured the properties of Z0 → bb̅ decays using a sample of 944 inclusive muon events, corresponding to 18 000 hadron events obtained with the L3 detector at LEP. We measured the partial decay width of the Z0 into bb̅, γbb̅=353 ± 48 MeV, and we determined the vector coupling of the Z0 to the b quark; grmv2(b)=0.095±0.047. We measured the forward-backward charge asymmetry in e+e− → bb̅ events at √s≈Mv, and obtained Abb̅=13.3 ± 9.9%