QCD factorization and CP asymmetries in hadronic B decays

We review recent advances in the theory of strong-interaction effects and final-state interactions in hadronic weak decays of heavy mesons. In the heavy-quark limit, the amplitudes for most nonleptonic, two-body B decays can be calculated from first principles and expressed in terms of semileptonic form factors and lightcone distribution amplitudes. We summarize the main features of this novel QCD factorization and discuss its phenomenological applications to B → DL decays (with L a light meson), and to the rare charmless decays B → πK and B → ππ.