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The primary decay mode for the negative pion \({\pi ^{\rm{ - }}} \to {{\rm{\mu }}^{\rm{ - }}}{\rm{ + }}{{\rm{\bar \upsilon }}_{\rm{\mu }}}\).

(a) What is the energy release in \({\rm{MeV}}\) in this decay?

(b) Using conservation of momentum, how much energy does each of the decay products receive, given the \({\pi ^{\rm{ - }}}\) is at rest when it decays? You may assume the muon antineutrino is massless and has momentum \(p = \frac{{{E_\nu }}}{c}\), just like a photon.

Short Answer

Expert verified

(a) The energy release in\({\rm{MeV}}\)for the decay is\(\Delta E = 33.9{\rm{ Me}}{{\rm{V}}^{\rm{2}}}\).

(b) Using conservation of momentum, the amount of energy that each of the decay products receive is\({E_\nu } = 29.8{\rm{ MeV}}\)and\(\Delta {E_\mu } = 4.1{\rm{ MeV}}\).

Step by step solution

01

Concept Introduction

The relation between mass and energy is given by the energy expression,

\(E = \Delta m{c^2}\)

Here\(E\)is the energy of the physical system,\(m\)is the mass of the system and\(c\)is the speed of the light in vacuum.

02

Calculation for Energy Released

(a)

As the negative pion\({\pi ^{\rm{ - }}}\)was at rest before the decay, energy released is calculated as the change in rest mass –

\(\Delta m = {m_{{\pi ^ - }}} - {m_{{\mu ^ - }}} - {m_{{{\bar \nu }_\mu }}}\)…… (i)

Inputting the known rest masses

\(\begin{aligned}{}\Delta E &= {c^2}\Delta m\\ &= {c^2}\left( {{\rm{139}}{\rm{.6 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right) - {c^2}\left( {{\rm{105}}{\rm{.7 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right) - {c^2}\left( {{\rm{0 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right)\\ &= {\rm{33}}{\rm{.9 Me}}{{\rm{V}}^{\rm{2}}}\end{aligned}\)

Therefore, the value for energy released is obtained as \(\Delta E = 33.9{\rm{ Me}}{{\rm{V}}^{\rm{2}}}\).

03

Calculation for Energy Received

(b)

Since energy and momentum are conserved in the process, use the momentum-energy relation for the muon –

\(E_\mu ^2 = {m^2}{c^4} + {p^2}{c^2}\) …… (ii)

And it's massless reduction for the neutrino –

\(p = \frac{{{E_\nu }}}{c}\) …… (iii)

To solve for energy and momentum, the momentum is conserved, so input equation (ii) values into the equation (i)

\(E_\mu ^2 = m_\mu ^2{c^4} + E_\nu ^2\) …… (iv)

Since energy is conserved, it can be written as –

\({E_\mu } + {E_\nu } = {m_\pi }{c^2}\)

Where \({m_\pi }{c^2}\) is the rest mass energy of the pion. Plugging (iii) into (iv)

\(\begin{aligned}{c}\sqrt {m_\mu ^2{c^4} + E_\nu ^2} + {E_\nu } &= {m_\pi }{c^2}\\\sqrt {m_\mu ^2{c^4} + E_\nu ^2} &= {m_\pi }{c^2} - {E_\nu }\\m_\mu ^2{c^4} + E_\nu ^2 &= m_\pi ^2{c^4} - 2{m_\pi }{c^2}{E_\nu } + E_\nu ^2\\2{m_\pi }{c^2}{E_\nu } &= m_\pi ^2{c^4} - m_\mu ^2{c^4}\\{E_\nu } &= \frac{{m_\pi ^2{c^4} - m_\mu ^2{c^4}}}{{2{m_\pi }{c^2}}}\\ &= \frac{{m_\pi ^2{c^2} - m_\mu ^2{c^2}}}{{2{m_\pi }}}\end{aligned}\)

Inputting the known masses

\(\begin{aligned}{}{E_\nu } &= \frac{{{{\left( {{\rm{139}}{\rm{.6 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right)}^{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}{\rm{ - }}{{\left( {{\rm{105}}{\rm{.7 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right)}^{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}}}{{{\rm{2}}\left( {{\rm{139}}{\rm{.6 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right)}}\\ &= 29.8{\rm{ MeV}}\end{aligned}\)

To obtain the energy given to the muon use (4) and further subtract the muon rest mass energy –

\(\begin{aligned}{}\Delta {E_\mu } &= {m_\pi }{c^2} - {E_\nu } - {m_\mu }{c^2}\\ &= \left( {{\rm{139}}{\rm{.6 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right){{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}{\rm{ - (29}}{\rm{.8 MeV) - }}\left( {{\rm{105}}{\rm{.7 MeV/}}{{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}} \right){{\rm{c}}^{\rm{2}}}\\ &= {\rm{4}}{\rm{.1 MeV}}\end{aligned}\)

Therefore, the value for energy received by each decay product is obtained as\({E_\nu } = 29.8{\rm{ MeV}}\) and\(\Delta {E_\mu } = 4.1{\rm{ MeV}}\).

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(a) What is the uncertainty in the energy released in the decay of a \({{\rm{\pi }}^{\rm{0}}}\)due to its short lifetime?

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(b) If the neutrino leaves the \({\rm{1987 A}}\) supernova at the same time as a photon and both travel to Earth, how much sooner does the photon arrive? This is not a large time difference, given that it is impossible to know which neutrino left with which photon and the poor efficiency of the neutrino detectors. Thus, the fact that neutrinos were observed within hours of the brightening of the supernova only places an upper limit on the neutrino’s mass. (Hint: You may need to use a series expansion to find \({\rm{v}}\) for the neutrino, since it \(\gamma \) is so large.)

(a) Show that the conjectured decay of the proton, \({\rm{p}} \to {\pi ^{\rm{0}}}{\rm{ + }}{{\rm{e}}^{\rm{ + }}}\), violates conservation of baryon number and conservation of lepton number.

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