Calculate Invariant Mass for Kaon & Pion - Help from W.

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the invariant mass of a Kaon and a neutral pion resulting from a collision involving a proton. The invariant mass is determined using the formula m² = E² - p², where E represents the energy and p represents the momentum of the particles. It is clarified that the mass of the proton does not need to be included in this calculation, as only the outgoing Kaon and pion are relevant. The participant, W, initially miscalculated the invariant mass, suggesting a value around 10 GeV/c², which was deemed too large.

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  • Understanding of relativistic energy-momentum relations
  • Familiarity with invariant mass calculations
  • Knowledge of particle physics, specifically Kaons and pions
  • Basic grasp of vector addition in momentum
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wakko101
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We have a collision involving a Kaon plus and proton initially resulting in the same plus a neutral pion (ie. Kp to Kp(pi)). The question asks to calculate the invariant mass of just the outgoing kaon and pion, given the outgoing momenta of the particles, the angle between them and their masses.

Do I have to take into account the mass of the proton when I'm calculating this, or can I simply add (E1 + E2)^2 and (p1 + p2)^2 (ie the masses and momentum of the two relevant particles) according to the invariant mass equation? The value I'm getting now seems too large, in the region of 10 GeV/c^2.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers,
W.
 
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The formula is
m^2 = E^2 - p^2
isn't it? So you should subtract those two quantities, not add them, but otherwise I think it should work.
 

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