Pion Decay into Tau and Tau Neutrino: Energy Considerations

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the impossibility of a pion decaying into a tau lepton and a tau neutrino due to energy conservation constraints. The mass of the pion, approximately 135 MeV, is insufficient to produce a tau lepton, which has a mass of approximately 1777 MeV. This highlights the necessity of checking energy conservation in particle decay processes, particularly in reactions of the form X → A1 + A2 + ... + An.

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  • Understanding of particle physics, specifically lepton classification.
  • Familiarity with energy conservation principles in particle decay.
  • Knowledge of the mass-energy equivalence principle (E=mc²).
  • Basic comprehension of center-of-mass (CM) energy calculations.
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  • Research the mass and decay properties of various leptons, including tau and pion.
  • Study energy conservation in particle physics, focusing on decay processes.
  • Learn about the center-of-mass frame and its significance in particle collisions.
  • Explore decay channels and their feasibility based on particle masses.
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Oreith
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This may be a silly question, but what prevents the decay of a Pion into a (anti) Tau and (anti)Tau neutrino. I can see the process for the electron but not for the tau.
 
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Conservation of energy. The tau lepton is heavier than the pion.
 
In the CM of the pion, it will have E = m_\pi \approx 135 ~MeV
Then decaying to something that needs at least (for its mass purposes) energy of E \sim M_\tau \approx 1777 ~MeV is impossible.
That's something one has to check everytime he has a decay of the form : X \rightarrow A_1 + A_2 + ... +A_n
That's not though the case of X+Y \rightarrow N- \text{particles}
 

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