Strong vs Weak Decay: Lifetimes Explained

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the differences in lifetimes of decay processes associated with strong and weak interactions. Participants explore the reasons behind the short lifetime of strong decays compared to the longer lifetimes of weak decays, touching on theoretical and conceptual aspects of particle physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that strong decay processes have very short lifetimes (around 10^-23 seconds), while weak decay processes have longer lifetimes (around 10^-10 seconds).
  • Another participant suggests that the weak interaction is inherently weaker, which could explain the longer decay times.
  • A participant questions what constitutes a 'decay process' involving the strong force and provides an example of a specific decay process, mentioning its mediation by a gluon.
  • One participant qualitatively describes the relationship between the strength of the force and the time evolution of the decay process, suggesting that weaker forces correspond to slower time evolution.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of decay processes and the implications of the strength of interactions, indicating that multiple competing views remain without a consensus.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the definitions of strong and weak interactions and their implications for decay processes are not fully explored, leaving room for further discussion.

PsychonautQQ
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I read in my textbook that a decay process involving the strong interaction has a very short lifetime (10^-23s) whereas a decay process involving the weak interaction has a longer lifetime (10^-10s). Why is this?
 
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That's because the weak interaction is weaker (hence the name)
 
If you check a source like wikipedia on the strong and weak force, you'll find they atre involved in quite different action phenomena...

What is a 'decay process' involving the strong force?
 
Naty1 said:
What is a 'decay process' involving the strong force?
For example, "www.oeaw.ac.at/smi/uploads/media/ETP-WS09-Lesson11.pdf‎" mentions ∑0(1385) → Λ + π0 as a strong decay, taking place in 10-23 sec and mediated by a gluon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Qualitatively, you may think that the weak force is weaker, so the system evolves more slowly, thus takes longer time to decay.
Or, in other words, weaker force corresponds to lower energy process, i.e. the time evolution ##e^{-iEt}## is slow .
 

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