Compute decay rate of muon according to given equation

In summary, the conversation discussed the decay of a muon into an electron, electron neutrino, and muon neutrino. The matrix element of this process was given, along with the decay rate formula. The conversation then went on to discuss the integral over the final state particles and how to simplify it using spherical symmetry. The suggestion was made to use the three-momentum delta function to integrate over the electron three-momentum, and to rewrite the muon three-momentum infinitesimals in terms of energy variables.
  • #1
Fb.Researcher
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Homework Statement


A muon decays to an electron, an electron neutrino and a muon neutrino. ## \mu \rightarrow e \ \nu_\mu \ \nu_e## .The matrix element of the process is ## |\mathcal{M}|^2 = G^2_F (m^2-2mE)mE## with ##m## being the mass of the muon and ##E## the energy of the resulting electron neutrino.
I need to show that decay rate is $$ \Gamma = \frac{G^2_F m^5 }{192 \pi ^3}$$

Homework Equations


$$ \Gamma = \frac{1}{2 E_1} |\mathcal{M}|^2 d\Pi_{LIPS} $$
with ##d\Pi_{LIPS}## being an integral over this entitiy
$$ d\Pi = \prod_{final \ states j} \frac{d^3 p_j}{(2 \pi )^3}\frac{1}{2 E_{p_j}}
(2 \pi )^4 \delta ^4(\sum p_i^\mu - \sum p_f^\mu)$$
The delta function shows energy-momentum conservation with ##p_i^\mu## related to initial particles' momenta and ##p_f^\mu## related to final particles' momenta.

The Attempt at a Solution


$$d\Pi = \frac{d^3p_e}{(2\pi)^3} \frac{d^3p_{\nu \mu}}{(2\pi)^3} \frac{d^3p_{\nu_e}}{(2\pi)^3} (2 \pi )^4 \delta (E + E_{\nu \mu} + E_e - m) \delta ^3( \vec{p_\mu} - \vec{p_e} - \vec{p_{\nu_{mu}}} - \vec{\nu_e}) \frac{1}{2E_e} \frac{1}{2E_{\nu \mu}} \frac{1}{2E_{\nu _e}}$$
Integrating over three four-momenta and using delta function over momenta and the fact that we can use a frame in which the initial particle is not moving, I wrote:
$$d\Pi_{LISP} = \frac{1}{(2 \pi)^5 2^3} \int d^3p_e \int d^3p_{\nu \mu} \delta (E + E_{\nu \mu} + E_e - m) \frac{1}{E_e E_{\nu \mu} E } $$
This time we have ## \vec{p_e} = -\vec{p_{\nu_{mu}}} - \vec{\nu_e}##.
Changing the integral variable so that we have delta function of some variable like x we have:
$$ x= E + E_{\nu \mu} + E_e - m$$
$$ E_{\nu \mu} = P_{\nu \mu} \quad $$
$$E_e = \sqrt{p_e^2 + m_e} = \sqrt{|\vec{p_{\nu_{\mu}}} + \vec{\nu_e}| + m_e} = \sqrt{p_{\nu_{\mu}}^2 + p_e^2 -2 p_{\nu_{\mu}} p_e \cos \theta}$$
$$ \frac{dx}{dp_{\nu \mu}}=1 + \frac{2 p_{\nu \mu}}{E}$$
Using this new variable in integral we have
$$d\Pi_{LISP} = \frac{1}{(2 \pi)^5 2^3} \int d^3p_e \int_{E + E_{\nu \mu} + E_e - m}^{\infty} dx \delta(x) \frac{p_{\nu \mu}^2}{E_e E_{\nu \mu} E } (1 + \frac{2 p_{\nu \mu}}{E})$$
$$d\Pi_{LISP} = \frac{1}{(2 \pi)^5 2^3} \int d^3p_e \frac{p_{\nu \mu}^2}{E_e E_{\nu \mu} E } (1 + \frac{2 p_{\nu \mu}}{E}) \Theta(E + E_{\nu \mu} + E_e - m)$$

Now I can not reach the result that the problem want ! Please help me!
This problem is problem number 3 of chapter 5 from the book "Quantum Field Theory and Standard model" by Matthew D. Schwartz
I really appreciate your help and patience.
Thankyou
 
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  • #2
Did you consider the spherical symmetry of the problem? That rshould simplify the three-dimensional integral.
 
  • #3
Why don't you use the three-momentum delta function to do the integral over the electron three-momentum (instead of a neutrino three-momentum)? Since this is the most complicated three-momentum (because of the mass), this seems to be the best approach.
Then rewrite the infinitesimals [itex] d^3p [/itex] of the muon three-momenta in the form [itex] p^2 dp d \Omega [/itex]. The angular integrations ar trivial and you may then convert the p variables to energy variables (which is simple since you consider the massless limit for the neutrinos). You may use the energy delta function to carry out trivially one of these integrals, leaving you a last one that should be easy.
 

1. What is the equation for computing the decay rate of a muon?

The equation for computing the decay rate of a muon is given by:
R = λN
where R is the decay rate, λ is the decay constant, and N is the number of muons present.

2. What is the decay constant for muons?

The decay constant for muons is a constant value that determines the rate at which muons decay. It is denoted by the symbol λ and is equal to approximately 0.05 per day.

3. How does the number of muons present affect the decay rate?

The decay rate of muons is directly proportional to the number of muons present. This means that as the number of muons increases, the decay rate also increases.

4. Can the decay rate of muons vary?

Yes, the decay rate of muons can vary depending on the environment in which they are present. Factors such as temperature, pressure, and magnetic fields can affect the decay rate of muons. However, the decay constant remains constant.

5. How is the decay rate of muons measured?

The decay rate of muons can be measured by counting the number of muons present at different intervals of time and using the given equation to calculate the decay rate. This measurement is typically done in a controlled environment such as a laboratory.

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