Laws of conservation in special relativity

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The discussion focuses on the laws of conservation in special relativity, particularly regarding momentum and energy during particle collisions. It emphasizes that the momentum before a collision is equal to the total momentum after, and that energy conservation must account for the rest mass of particles involved. The center of momentum (CoM) frame is highlighted as a useful perspective, where total momentum is zero, simplifying calculations. Participants express uncertainty about applying these concepts, particularly in transitioning between different reference frames and calculating invariant mass. The conversation concludes with guidance on using invariant mass to determine the maximum number of particles produced in a collision scenario.
  • #31
LagrangeEuler said:
in COM frame where \vec{p}=\vec{0}
I get
2E_0=\sqrt{E_0^2+p_1'^2c^2}+\sqrt{E_0^2+p_2'^2c^2}+...+\sqrt{E_0^2+p_n'^2c^2}
\vec{0}=\vec{p}'_1+\vec{p}'_2+...+\vec{p}'_n
and it does not have sense. Where is the mistake? It is obvious that the mistake is in the equation
2E_0=\sqrt{E_0^2+p_1'^2c^2}+\sqrt{E_0^2+p_2'^2c^2}+...+\sqrt{E_0^2+p_n'^2c^2}. Could you please help me to understand where is the error?
Before the collision, the two protons are not at rest, so the total energy is ##2E'##, not ##2E_0##. After the collision, the particles are at rest, so the energy of each particle is just ##E_0##. The equation you wrote down has the initial protons at rest and the final particles all moving.
 
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  • #32
What you did in your first post (I think) is okay. Given that you are only required to compute the threshold energy to create an antiproton/proton pair (by threshold I mean you are not concerned with the kinetic energy of the pair after creating - you just need to calculate the energy required for them to exist) then your answer of 82 needs to be divided by 2 since you are dealing with pairs. At least this is what I think.
 

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