Helicity, Chirality, and Parity Violation

In summary, the conversation discusses the Li/Yang/Wu beta decay experiment and how it showed parity violation in the weak force. The focus is on the difference between helicities and chiral states, and the question of how the electroweak force is chiral. The reference provided does not fully answer the question, but the conversation suggests looking at reference 1 which introduces chirality in the appendix.
  • #1
shirosato
22
0
Hello all,

This is something that has irked me for a while. The Li/Yang/Wu beta decay showed parity violation in the weak force, but from what I gather, it was the helicities of the electrons they measured, while it is the chiral states which are important. For a massive fermion, aren't the chiral states superpositions of the helicity states and vice-versa? How exactly did they deduce that the electroweak force is chiral?
 
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  • #2
Did you read their paper?
 
  • #3
The reference griffiths gives is:

http://prola.aps.org/pdf/PR/v105/i4/p1413_1 ,

which doesn't seem to answer my question, unless I am missing something.
 
  • #4
See reference 1. Note that they don't even need to introduce chirality until the appendix.
 

1. What is helicity?

Helicity refers to the component of an object's angular momentum that is parallel or antiparallel to its direction of motion. In particle physics, it is used to describe the spin of a particle, which can be either left-handed or right-handed.

2. What is chirality?

Chirality is the property of a molecule or particle that makes it non-superimposable on its mirror image. In other words, it has a specific "handedness" or orientation in space. This property is important in understanding the behavior of certain molecules and particles in chemical and physical processes.

3. How is parity violation related to helicity and chirality?

Parity violation is the phenomenon where the laws of physics do not behave the same way under mirror reflection. Helicity and chirality help to explain this violation, as particles with different helicity or chirality will behave differently under mirror reflection, leading to a violation of parity symmetry.

4. What are some real-world applications of helicity, chirality, and parity violation?

Helicity, chirality, and parity violation have important applications in fields such as particle physics, chemistry, and biology. They help to explain the behavior of particles and molecules, as well as the interactions between them. For example, the study of chirality has led to the development of new drugs with improved efficacy and fewer side effects.

5. Can helicity, chirality, and parity violation be observed in everyday life?

While these concepts may not be directly observable in everyday life, they have a significant impact on the behavior of matter and energy at the smallest scales. Experiments in particle physics and other fields have provided evidence for the existence of these phenomena and their role in the fundamental laws of the universe.

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