What Do K and Alpha Represent in Yukawa's Potential?

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In Yukawa's potential, the constant alpha represents the strength of the force, similar to the fine structure constant for electromagnetic interactions. The constant K indicates the inverse range of the force, where R is approximately equal to \hbar/(Mc), with M being the mass of the mediating boson. For electromagnetic forces, the range R is infinite, resulting in K being zero. This understanding clarifies the roles of these constants in the context of particle physics. The discussion highlights the importance of these parameters in characterizing fundamental forces.
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This may seem like a really obvious question to those that know it but...

We looked at Yukawa's potential the other day, in the form W(r)=\frac{\alpha}{r}*e^{-Kr}, but our lecturer never explained what K and \alpha actually are! I've looked on the net and all I can find is that they are constants. What does they actually stand for?
 
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Roughly speaking, alpha is a constant representing the "strength" of the force... for the EM force it would be the fine structure constant. K is a constant representing the inverse of the range of the force R\approx \frac{\hbar}{Mc}. (M is the mass of the mediating boson). For the EM force R would be infinite, so K would be 0.

Ref: Particle Physics, Martin and Shaw, 3rd Ed.
 
Ah, now that makes a lot of sense! Thanks very much!
 

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