Understanding the S, U, and T Channels

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Silviu
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Hello! Could someone please explain to me the s, u and t channels. I am not sure I understand their physical significance (except for the s channel) and how do you decide in which channel is a given interaction. Thank you!
 

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They all contribute if (!) they can happen for a given process. Their "physical significance" is the same as for the s channel. You cannot point to an observed process and say "it happened via this channel!" unless all but one channel are impossible.
 
mfb said:
They all contribute if (!) they can happen for a given process. Their "physical significance" is the same as for the s channel. You cannot point to an observed process and say "it happened via this channel!" unless all but one channel are impossible.
And not even then. There are also loop diagrams.
 

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