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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of compiling a comprehensive spreadsheet of subatomic particles and their properties from the Particle Data Group (PDG) website. Participants explore various methods for extracting and organizing this data, including potential software tools and algorithms.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks to create a spreadsheet of subatomic particles and their properties but struggles to find a way to extract the data from the PDG website.
  • Another participant suggests that data mining the PDG site might be an option but raises concerns about potential objections from the PDG.
  • A different participant expresses interest in using clustering algorithms on the compiled data to analyze how particles group in parameter space, framing it as a proof of concept.
  • One suggestion is to explore Monte Carlo algorithms like JETSET and PYTHIA, which may contain hardcoded lists of particle properties that could be useful.
  • A participant shares a link to a specific PDG resource that may contain relevant data, noting that it might not be comprehensive but could still be helpful.
  • Another participant mentions the use of Mathematica to access particle data, providing a code snippet for extracting specific properties from the PDG and other sources.
  • Several participants express gratitude for the Mathematica suggestion, indicating it significantly eases their task.
  • One participant offers a copy of the compiled file for others who may need similar information.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the difficulty of extracting data from the PDG website and the potential usefulness of alternative tools like Mathematica. However, there is no consensus on the best method for compiling the data, and various approaches are discussed without resolution.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the limitations of the PDG resources, including the potential incompleteness of certain data sets and the challenges of finding specific information. There is also uncertainty regarding the availability of quark content in older versions of the PDG data.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for researchers and students interested in particle physics, data analysis, and those looking for methods to compile and analyze particle property data.

zubair
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Hey Folks,
I wanted to put together a single spreadsheet of subatomic particles (e-, ν, b, t, π Ξ, Σ, Δ, etc.) and their properties that have been measured (mass, mean lifetime, valence quark content, charge, spin, parity, etc.). I have been looking through the PDG website for some way to extract all the individual data sheets into one but to no avail. It could be comma-separated plain text, or an excel file.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to combine all this information or if it has been done where to look for it?

Thanks!
 
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Short of data mining pdgLive (they might object to that ...) or doing it by hand I am not aware of any solution.

Why do you need it in a spreadsheet when it is all there? It would be a pretty large spreadsheet ...
 
Funny you say data mining! I wanted to put all the information together and see if I can run some clustering algorithms from an analytic package and show how all the particles form groups in some parameter space. I want to it to serve as a proof of concept more than anything.
 
This is just an idea and I'm not sure if it might work but Monte Carlo algorithms like JETSET and PYTHIA have access to a list of all the main properties of the known particles (they share that list with the PDG). Maybe if you look at what's hardcoded inside you can find somethig useful.
 
Thank you Einj. I'm checking out Pythia now and it looks promising. If it doesn't provide everything I need, it will still be a great starting point.
 
Do you want more info than : http://pdg.lbl.gov/2014/mcdata/mass_width_2014.mcd

Which is found on the page http://pdg.lbl.gov/2014/html/computer_read.html
under "Tables of particle information"

By no means comprehensive, but maybe it has what you need? It took me a while to find it, though now it seems obvious. A few years ago I had stumbled on it and it was quite useful.

Whats funny is I think the older versions DID have quark content, I vaguely remember. Or maybe I did that myself.ADDITIONALLY!
If you have mathematica you can use the Particle Data stuff to get your lists. I know it pulls from the PDG amongst other sources, though I don't know which year.

http://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ParticleData.htmlSo Something like
Code: 
tmp = Table[
    ParticleData[X, INFO], {X,
     ParticleData[All]}, {INFO, {"Symbol", "Mass", "Charge",
      "Lifetime", "QuarkContent", "Width"}}] // TableForm
 
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Hepth, I don't even know what to say to you. This makes my life so much easier! Thank you so much for the mathematica idea.

You're the best!
 
zubair said:
Hepth, I don't even know what to say to you. This makes my life so much easier! Thank you so much for the mathematica idea.

You're the best!
No problem! i wish i had seen it soonera!
 
Here's a copy of the file I put together in case anyone else ever needs something like this.
 

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