Scribd
Upload
127 views

Problem Set 1

This document provides an overview and exercises for a particle physics course. It includes: 1) An introduction to scattering kinematics and Mandelstam variables through exercises calculating momentum and invariant quantities. 2) Conversions between natural units used in particle physics (eV, MeV) and SI units (kg, m/s) for quantities like the Planck mass and Higgs boson mass. 3) Exercises on elastic electron-proton scattering involving calculating 4-vectors, energies, and differential cross-sections. 4) Questions about Lorentz invariance of the flux factor and relativistic kinematics for two-body decays.

Uploaded by

Carolina Bouvier
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
127 views

Problem Set 1

This document provides an overview and exercises for a particle physics course. It includes: 1) An introduction to scattering kinematics and Mandelstam variables through exercises calculating momentum and invariant quantities. 2) Conversions between natural units used in particle physics (eV, MeV) and SI units (kg, m/s) for quantities like the Planck mass and Higgs boson mass. 3) Exercises on elastic electron-proton scattering involving calculating 4-vectors, energies, and differential cross-sections. 4) Questions about Lorentz invariance of the flux factor and relativistic kinematics for two-body decays.

Uploaded by

Carolina Bouvier
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Albert-Ludwigs-Universit

at Freiburg

Winter 2014/15

Particle Physics II
Markus Schumacher, Anna Kopp, Stan Lai

Problem Set I
28 October 2014

Please use c = 3.00 108 m/s and ~c = 1.97 107 eV m for all numerical computations.

In-class exercises
Exercise 1 Scattering Kinematics

(a) Consider a scattering process of two particles with centre-of-mass energy ECM = s. Show that
the incident momentum p~i of any of the two particles in the centre-of-mass frame satisfies


1 
s (m1 + m2 )2 s (m1 m2 )2 ,
4s

for particle masses m1 and m2 . Start by writing s E1 = E2 , and square both sides, and then
substitute for the energy terms, using the relativistic relation E 2 = |~
p|2 + m2 .
(b) How can you tell that this expression of |~
pi | is Lorentz invariant?
(c) In some cases you can neglect the masses of a particle or particles, if they are much smaller than
the collision energy. In the case of electron-proton collisions, one often neglects the mass of the
electron. In this particular case, show that the expression for p~i simplifies to:
|~
pi |2 =

|~
pi |2

Ee2 m2p
=
s

whereby s is the Mandelstam variable which can be written s = (p1 + p2 )2 for incident particles
1 and 2, and Ee is the energy of the electron in the proton rest frame.
Exercise 2 Mandelstam Variables
Consider the 2 2 scattering process 1 + 2 3 + 4.
(a) For the case of identical mass (m1 = m2 = m3 = m4 m) in the center-of-mass system, show
that

s = 4 |~
p|2 + m2 ,
t = 2|~
p|2 (1 cos ) ,
u = 2|~
p|2 (1 + cos ) ,
where |~
p| = |~
pi | = |~
pf | is the modulus of the 3-momentum of the incoming and outgoing particles,
and = (~
p1 , p~3 ) is the scattering angle.
(b) For which scattering angle do t and u reach their minima / maxima?
Exercise 3 Fun with Natural Units
3

(a) Determine the value of the gravitational constant GN 6.7 1011 kgms2 in natural units of
particle physics. (in terms of eV)
p
(b) Express the Planck mass MP = 1/GN in natural units of particle physics.
(c) In SI units, the electron mass is given by 9.11 1031 kg. Express this in units of MeV.

Homework
Exercise 4 More Fun with Natural Units

3 Points

(a) In 2012, a Higgs boson was found at the LHC experiments with a mass of around 125 GeV.
Express this mass in SI units.
(b) The muon lifetime is measured quite precisely and is = 2.2 s. Express this in terms of units
in eV.
Exercise 5 Electron-Proton Elastic Scattering

8 Points

Consider elastic electron-proton scattering, where the incoming electron (1) has incident energy E1 ,
and the proton (2) is initially at rest with p~2 = 0. Label the outgoing electron and proton with (3)
and (4), respectively, with the angle between the momentum of the outgoing electron and the original
incoming momentum denoted by . Assume for this problem that the electron mass is negligible
(me ' 0).
(a) Draw a sketch of the scattering process in the laboratory frame.
(b) Write down the 4-vectors of the incoming and outgoing particles in terms of energies, masses,
and the angle .
(c) Express the quantity E3 in terms of E1 , mp , and , where mp is the proton mass.
d
(d) What is the expression of the differential cross-section d
for this process? Use the fact that

d
d dt
=
d
dt d
for the Mandelstam variable t = (p1 p3 )2 = (p2 p4 )2 , and the Lorentz invariant form of the
scattering cross-section for 2 2 processes (with distinct particles)
|Mf i |2
d
=
,
dt
64s|~
pi |2
whereby p~i is the momentum of the incident electron (see Problem 1) in the centre-of-mass frame
and s is the Mandelstam variable equivalent to the square of the centre-of-mass energy.
Exercise 6 Lorentz Invariant Flux Factor

4 Points

From the lectures, the cross-section for the scattering process A + B 1 + 2 can be expressed as
Z
1
d3 p~1
d3 p~1
2
3
=
|M
|
(E
+
E

E
)
(~
p
+
p
~

p
~

p
~
)
,
1
2
1
2
A
B
A
B
fi
(2)2 F
(2)3 2E1 (2)3 2E1
where the momenta of the incoming particles A and B are anti-parallel with respect to each other
(i.e. ~vA ~vB = |~vA ||~vB |). Here, the Lorentz invariant flux factor is given by F = 4EA EB |~vA ~vB | for
incoming particle velocities ~vA and ~vB .q
Show that the flux factor F is indeed Lorentz invariant.
Hint: Show that F can be written as 4

(pA pB )2 m2A m2B for 4-vectors pA and pB .

Exercise 7 Relativistic kinematics for the two-body decay


Consider the decay A BC in the rest frame of particle A.

5 Points

(a) Show that the following equation describes the energies of the outgoing particles as a function of
the masses involved:
EB =

m2A + m2B m2C


2mA

EC =

m2A m2B + m2C


2mA

(b) Using this result, show that the momentum of the outgoing particles |~
pf | = |~
pB | = |~
pC | is given
by:
q
1
|~
pf | =
m4A + m4B + m4C 2m2A m2B 2m2A m2C 2m2B m2C .
2mA
(c) What is the energy of a produced in the decay in the pion rest frame? You can
use m = 140 MeV, m = 106 MeV, and m = 0.

You might also like