What are the different forces that can contribute to particle decay processes?

Islam Hassan
Messages
237
Reaction score
5
What drives particle decay? Is it an elementary, irreducible observation or can we model it based on a set of observable variables?

Do all particle decay modes involve the weak force? Does one even need the intervention of a given force to have particle decay?

Does string theory explain decay in terms of things like string tension, oscillation, etc?

IH
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Beta decay (and related processes) are governed by the weak force. Alpha decay and fission are strong plus em force results.
 

Thread 'Toponium Discovered'

Toponium is a hadron which is the bound state of a valance top quark and a valance antitop quark. Oversimplified presentations often state that top quarks don't form hadrons, because they decay to bottom quarks extremely rapidly after they are created, leaving no time to form a hadron. And, the vast majority of the time, this is true. But, the lifetime of a top quark is only an average lifetime. Sometimes it decays faster and sometimes it decays slower. In the highly improbable case that...
View full post »

Thread 'Dirac-Delta from Normalization of Continuous Eigenfunctions'

I'm following this paper by Kitaev on SL(2,R) representations and I'm having a problem in the normalization of the continuous eigenfunctions (eqs. (67)-(70)), which satisfy \langle f_s | f_{s'} \rangle = \int_{0}^{1} \frac{2}{(1-u)^2} f_s(u)^* f_{s'}(u) \, du. \tag{67} The singular contribution of the integral arises at the endpoint u=1 of the integral, and in the limit u \to 1, the function f_s(u) takes on the form f_s(u) \approx a_s (1-u)^{1/2 + i s} + a_s^* (1-u)^{1/2 - i s}. \tag{70}...
View full post »

Similar threads

I How Does Beta Decay Relate to the Role of W Bosons in Weak Nuclear Force?
Replies
4
Views
4K
A Relation between chirality and spin
Replies
4
Views
2K
I New Constraints On The Higgs Boson Width
Replies
11
Views
3K
I Glueballs Observed For The First Time
Replies
10
Views
3K
How can elementary particles spontaneously decay?
Replies
17
Views
7K
I B -> s µµ decays: Current status
Replies
49
Views
12K
B Are real theories undiscoverable from effective field theories?
Replies
4
Views
2K
I Why Are Preon Models in Particle Physics Often Overlooked?
Replies
6
Views
6K
What is the cause of radioactive decay?
Replies
12
Views
18K
Must time require particle interaction (including decay)?
Replies
4
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top