What if the mass difference Delta M-s is around 18 inverse picoseconds?

Present experiments in pursuit of the mass difference in the B-s(0)-B-s(0) system have put a lower bound on this quantity of DeltaM(s) > 14.9 ps(-1) (at 95% C.L.). The same experiments also yield a local minimum in the log-likelihood function around DeltaM(s) = 17.7 ps(-1), which is 2.5 sigma away from being zero. Motivated by these observations, we investigate the consequences of a possible measurement of DeltaM(s) = 17.7 +/- 1.4 ps(-1), in the context of both the standard model and supersymmetric models with minimal flavor violation. We perform a fit of the quark mixing parameters in these theories and estimate the expected ranges of the CP asymmetries in B decays, characterised by alpha, beta and gamma, the interior angles of the CKM-unitarity triangle. Based on this study, we argue that, if indeed DeltaM(s) turns out to be in its currently-favored range, this would disfavor a large class of supersymmetric models. Indeed, of ail the models examined here, the best fit to the data occurs for the standard model.