Descriptive question on interaction states and mass states.

[LisaH89]

What are interaction states and what are mass states? Which ones are physical
states? Which ones appear in Feynman diagrams? Explain your answer.


I have that an interaction state is the state of a particle before the Higgs mechanism and the mass state is after the Higgs mechanism has given the particle mass.

Is this correct? And can anyone help with the rest of the question?

Thanks :)

 

[fpa2011]

are you sheffield uni by any chance?
I've just asked this question in another section.
also your answer is what I heard yesterday.

 

[LisaH89]

Yeah I am! Did you get an answer for the rest of it?

 

[fpa2011]

the physical states are the mass states I think.

As for the Feynman diagrams, I think they use the physical/mass states too because I can't remember ever drawing or seeing a diagram where there's been interaction states on it. they are always made with, say, an electron e rather than using the interaction states (e_L e_R) that it is a mixture of... in my experience anyway.

good luck tomorrow anyway it's going to be a right ***** of an exam.