About spatial symmetry in a particle decay process

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Tareq - 12 Apr 2006 03:49 GMT

Hi,
In the lab frame, the outcomes of a particle decay process will have
their momentum in the direction of the momentum of the decaying
particle to conserve momentum. What about the particle frame? In the
particle frame the momentum is zero and no direction is better than the
other, so what would be the direction of the emitted outcomes?

Reply to this Message

PD - 12 Apr 2006 06:03 GMT

> Hi,
> In the lab frame, the outcomes of a particle decay process will have
> their momentum in the direction of the momentum of the decaying
> particle to conserve momentum. What about the particle frame? In the
> particle frame the momentum is zero and no direction is better than the
> other, so what would be the direction of the emitted outcomes?

Random, with the sum such that the total momentum is zero. There is no
preferred direction.

(And actually, the same is true in the "lab" frame, just boosted from
the previous configuration.)

PD

Reply to this Message

Tareq - 12 Apr 2006 06:18 GMT

> Random, with the sum such that the total momentum is zero. There is no
> preferred direction.

If many prticles decayed and the outcomes emitted in (random)
directions then we may say that all directions are equally likely. But
for a single particle decay, or for a few number of particles, there
will be a few number of (preferred) directions !! How are these
directions choseen?

Reply to this Message

Natural Science Forum / Physics / Particle Physics / April 2006

About spatial symmetry in a particle decay process