Decay Of Unstable Particles Research Articles

Generalised hydrodynamics of particle creation and decay

Unstable particles rarely feature in conjunction with integrability in 1+1D quantum field theory. However, the family of homogenous sine-Gordon models provides a rare example where both stable and unstable bound states are present in the spectrum whilst the scattering matrix is diagonal and solves the usual bootstrap equations. In the standard scattering picture, unstable particles result from complex poles of the S-matrix located in the unphysical sheet of rapidity space. Since they are not part of the asymptotic spectrum, their presence is only felt through the effect they have on physical quantities associated either to the theory as a whole (i.e. scaling functions, correlation functions) or to the stable particles themselves (i.e. energy/particle density). In two recent publications, the effect of unstable particles in different out-of-equilibrium settings has been studied. It has been shown that their presence is associated with specific signatures in many quantities of physical interest. A good way to select those quantities is to adopt the generalised hydrodynamic approach and to consider the effective velocities and particle densities of the stable particles in the theory. For an initial state given by a spacial gaussian profile of temperatures peaked at the origin, time evolution gives rise to particle and spectral particle densities that exhibit hallmarks of the creation and decay of unstable particles. While these signatures have been observed numerically elsewhere, this paper explores their quantitative and qualitative dependence on the parameters of the problem. We also consider other initial states characterised by “inverted gaussian” and “double gaussian” temperature profiles.

Tails of Instability and Decay: a Hydrodynamic Perspective

In the context of quantum field theory (QFT), unstable particles are associated with complex-valued poles of two-body scattering matrices in the unphysical sheet of rapidity space. The Breit-Wigner formula relates this pole to the mass and life-time of the particle, observed in scattering events. In this paper, we uncover new, dynamical signatures of unstable excitations and show that they have a strong effect on the non-equilibrium properties of QFT. Focusing on a 1+1D integrable model, and using the theory of Generalized Hydrodynamics, we study the formation and decay of unstable particles by analysing the release of hot matter into a low-temperature environment. We observe the formation of tails and the decay of the emitted nonlinear waves, in sharp contrast to the situation without unstable excitations. We also uncover a new phenomenon by which a wave of a stable population of unstable particles may persist without decay for long times. We expect these signatures of the presence of unstable particles to have a large degree of universality. Our study shows that the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of many-body systems can be strongly affected not only by the spectrum, but also by excitations with finite life-times.

Astrophysical information from the Rayleigh-Jeans Tail of the CMB

One of the explanations for the recent EDGES-LOW band 21 cm measurements of a strong absorption signal around 80 MHz is the presence of an excess radio background to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Such excess can be produced by the decay of unstable particles into small mass dark photons which have a non-zero mixing angle with electromagnetism. We use the EDGES-LOW band measurements to derive joint constraints on the properties of the early galaxies and the parameters of such a particle physics model for the excess radio background. A Bayesian analysis shows that a high star formation efficiency and X-ray emission of 4–7 × 1048 erg per solar mass in stars are required along with a suppression of star formation in halos with virial temperatures ≲ 2 × 104 K. The same analysis also suggests a 68 percent credible intervals for the mass of the decaying dark matter particles, it's lifetime, dark photon mass and the mixing angle of the dark and ordinary photon oscillation of [10-3.5, 10-2.4] eV, [101.1, 102.7] × 13.8 Gyr, [10-12.2, 10-10] eV and [10-7, 10-5.6] respectively. This implies an excess radio background which is ≈ 5.7 times stronger than the CMB around 80 MHz. This value is a factor ∼ 3 higher than the previous predictions which used a simplified model for the 21 cm signal.

Influence of intense laser fields on measurable quantities in [formula omitted]-boson decay

In principle, this paper suggests powerful laser technology as a promising instrument that can be experimentally useful to control the lifetime and branching ratio for an unstable particle decay. In a recent paper [ arXiv:2101.00224], we calculated theoretically the W−-boson leptonic decay (W−→ℓ−ν̄ℓ) in the presence of a circularly polarized laser and we showed that the laser significantly contributed to the diminution of the leptonic decay rate. In this paper, as a continuation of the previous one, we mainly deal with the theoretical calculation of the W−-boson hadronic decay (W−→qq̄′) and we combine the analytical results obtained in both papers to examine the effect of an intense laser, in terms of its field strength and frequency, on the three measurable quantities in W−-boson decay (total decay rate, lifetime and branching ratios). It was found that the laser has notably contributed to the reduction of the total decay rate leading to a longer lifetime. Most importantly, the two branching ratios (one for leptons and the other for hadrons) are affected (increased or decreased) by the presence of a strong external electromagnetic field. Combined together, these two complementary works may provide an in-depth and comprehensive study that would be useful for any experimental investigation in the future.

Laser effect on the final products of Z-boson decay

Experimentalists have long sought a method that allows them to control the branching ratios of an unstable particle decay and direct some decay to follow one specific desired channel without another. The powerful laser could make this a reality. In this letter and within the framework of the standard electroweak model, we investigate theoretically the laser effect on the branching ratios of different Z-boson decay modes by calculating analytically the Z-boson decay into a fermion–antifermion pai in the presence of a circularly polarized electromagnetic field. It is found that, at high intensities, the Z-boson could only decay invisibly into neutrinos, and its decay into any other pair of charged fermions becomes impossible due to the increase in the effective mass that fermions acquire inside the electromagnetic field. The influence of the laser frequency and intensity on the lifetime is also included in order to confirm the surprising result obtained for the pion lifetime in a previous paper (Mouslih 2020 Phys. Rev. D 102 073006).

Quantum Field Theory Description of Processes Passing at Finite Space and Time Intervals

We consider a new approach to the quantum field theory description of processes passing at finite space-time intervals. The formalism is based on the Feynman diagram technique in the coordinate representation supplemented with modified rules for the transition to the momentum representation reflecting specific experimental situations. This effectively implies that only the particle propagators in the momentum representation are modified, while the standard Feynman rules in the momentum representation remain unchanged. No wave packets are used in the approach, i.e., the initial and final states of particles are described by plane waves, which significantly simplifies the calculations. Three processes—neutrino oscillations, unstable particle decay, and neutral kaon oscillations—are used as examples to show that the proposed approach correctly reproduces the well-known results.

Room for New Physics in the Rayleigh-Jeans Tail of the Cosmic Microwave Background.

We show that, despite stringent constraints on the shape of the main part of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum, there is considerable room for its modification within its Rayleigh-Jeans (RJ) end, ω≪T_{CMB}. We construct explicit new physics models that give an order one (or larger) increase of photon count in the RJ tail, which can be tested by existing and upcoming experiments aiming to detect the cosmological 21cm emission or absorption signal. This class of models stipulates the decay of unstable particles to dark photons A^{'} that have a small mass, m_{A^{'}}∼10^{-14}-10^{-9} eV, nonvanishing mixing angle ε with electromagnetism, and energies much smaller than T_{CMB}. The nonthermal number density of dark photons can be many orders of magnitude above the number density of CMB photons, and even a small probability of A^{'}→A oscillations, for values as small as ε∼10^{-9}, can significantly increase the number of RJ photons. In particular, we show that resonant oscillations of dark photons into regular photons in the interval of redshifts 20<z<1700 can be invoked as an explanation of the recent tentative observation of a stronger-than-expected absorption signal of 21cm photons. We present a model that realizes this possibility, where meV mass dark matter decays to dark photons, with a lifetime longer than the age of the Universe.

Metastable dark energy with radioactive-like decay

We propose a new class of metastable dark energy (DE) phenomenological models in which the DE decay rate does not depend on external parameters such as the scale factor or the curvature of the Universe. Instead, the DE decay rate is assumed to be a constant depending only on intrinsic properties of DE and the type of a decay channel, similar to case of the radioactive decay of unstable particles and nuclei. As a consequence, the DE energy density becomes a function of the proper time elapsed since its formation, presumably in the very early Universe. Such a natural type of DE decay can profoundly affect the expansion history of the Universe and its age. Metastable DE can decay in three distinct ways: (i) exponentially, (ii) into dark matter, (iii) into dark radiation. Testing metastable DE models with observational data we find that the decay half-life must be many times larger than the age of the Universe. Models in which dark energy decays into dark matter lead to lower values of the Hubble parameter at large redshifts relative to $\Lambda$CDM. Consequently these models provide a better fit to cosmological BAO data (especially data from from high redshift quasars) than concordance ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology.

Brownian Motion of Decaying Particles: Transition Probability, Computer Simulation, and First-Passage Times

Recent developments in the measurement of radioactive gases in passive diffusion motivate the analysis of Brownian motion of decaying particles, a subject that has received little previous attention. This paper reports the derivation and solution of equations comparable to the Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations for one-dimensional diffusion and decay of unstable particles. In marked contrast to the case of stable particles, the two equations are not equivalent, but provide different information regarding the same stochastic process. The differences arise because Brownian motion with particle decay is not a continuous process. The discontinuity is readily apparent in the computer-simulated trajectories of the Langevin equation that incorporate both a Wiener process for displacement fluctuations and a Bernoulli process for random decay. This paper also reports the derivation of the mean time of first passage of the decaying particle to absorbing boundaries. Here, too, particle decay can lead to an outcome markedly different from that for stable particles. In particular, the first-passage time of the decaying particle is always finite, whereas the time for a stable particle to reach a single absorbing boundary is theoretically infinite due to the heavy tail of the inverse Gaussian density. The methodology developed in this paper should prove useful in the investigation of radioactive gases, aerosols of radioactive atoms, dust particles to which adhere radioactive ions, as well as diffusing gases and liquids of unstable molecules.

The Relationship Between the Possibility of a Hidden Variable in Time, Possible Photon Mass, Particle's Energy, Momentum and Special Relativity

In this paper we will discuss the relationship between a possible hidden variable in time, f_r, and possible photon mass, particle energy, momentum and special relativity. One of the implications of the possibility of a hidden variable in time that may explains the origin of unstable particle decay time distributions, is the possible existence of f_r for stable particle such as photons. It will be discussed, that f_r may be linked to the photons spin and wave function, which may lead to the conclusion that the photon has a rest mass. More specifically, it will be argued that in order to explain the photon's large energy range, the photon may have a set of masses. Following the above, a correction to the energy and momentum's expressions given by special relativity will be presented. Possible experimental ways to test the above will be discussed.

Non-factorizable photonic corrections to resonant production and decay of many unstable particles

Electroweak radiative corrections to the production of high-multiplicity final states with several intermediate resonances in most cases can be sufficiently well described by the leading contribution of an expansion about the resonance poles. In this approach, also known as pole approximation, corrections are classified into separately gauge-invariant factorizable and non-factorizable corrections, where the former can be attributed to the production and decay of the unstable particles on their mass shell. The remaining non-factorizable corrections are induced by the exchange of soft photons between different production and decay subprocesses. We give explicit analytical results for the non-factorizable photonic virtual corrections to the production of an arbitrary number of unstable particles at the one-loop level and, thus, deliver an essential building block in the calculation of next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections in pole approximation. The remaining virtual factorizable corrections can be obtained with modern automated one-loop matrix-element generators, while the evaluation of the corresponding real photonic corrections can be evaluated with full matrix elements by multi-purpose Monte Carlo generators. Our results can be easily modified to non-factorizable QCD corrections, which are induced by soft-gluon exchange.

INADEQUACY OF ZERO-WIDTH APPROXIMATION FOR A LIGHT HIGGS BOSON SIGNAL

The zero-width approximation (ZWA) restricts the intermediate unstable particle state to the mass shell and, when combined with the decorrelation approximation, fully factorizes the production and decay of unstable particles. The ZWA uncertainty is expected to be of [Formula: see text], where M and Γ are the mass and width of the unstable particle. We review the ZWA and demonstrate that errors can be much larger than expected if a significant modification of the Breit–Wigner lineshape occurs. A thorough examination of the recently discovered candidate Standard Model Higgs boson is in progress. For MH≈125 GeV, one has ΓH/MH &lt; 10-4, which suggests an excellent accuracy of the ZWA. We show that this is not always the case. The inclusion of off-shell contributions is essential to obtain an accurate Higgs signal normalization at the 1% precision level. For gg→H→VV, V = W, Z, [Formula: see text] corrections occur due to an enhanced Higgs signal in the region MVV &gt; 2MV, where also sizable Higgs-continuum interference occurs. We discuss how experimental selection cuts can be used to suppress this region in search channels where the Higgs mass cannot be reconstructed. We note that H→VV decay modes in non-gluon-fusion channels are similarly affected.

PACIAE 2.1: An updated issue of the parton and hadron cascade model PACIAE 2.0

We have updated the parton and hadron cascade model PACIAE 2.0 for relativistic nuclear collisions (cf. Comput. Phys. Comm. 183(2012)333) to the new issue of PACIAE 2.1. The PACIAE model is based on PYTHIA. In the PYTHIA model, once the generated particle/parton transverse momentum $p_T$ is randomly selected, its component of $[p_x,p_y]$ was originally put on the circle with radius $p_T$ randomly. It is now replaced by put on the circumference of ellipse with half major and minor axes of $p_T(1+\delta_p)$ and $p_T(1-\delta_p)$, respectively, in order to investigate better the transverse momentum anisotropy in final hadronic state.

CP violation in correlated production and decay of unstable particles

We study resonant CP-violating Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen correlations that may take place in the production and decay of unstable scalar particles at high-energy colliders. We show that as a consequence of unitarity and CPT invariance of the S-matrix, in 2 → 2 scatterings mediated by mixed scalar particles, at least three linearly independent decay matrices associated with the unstable scalar states are needed to obtain non-zero CP-odd observables that are also odd under C-conjugation. Instead, for the correlated production and decay of two unstable particle systems in 2 → 4 processes, we find that only two independent decay matrices are sufficient to induce a net non-vanishing CP-violating phenomenon. As an application of this theorem, we present numerical estimates of CP asymmetries for the correlated production and decay of supersymmetric scalar top–anti-top pairs at the LHC, and demonstrate that these could reach values of order one. As a byproduct of our analysis, we develop a novel spinorial trace technique, which enables us to efficiently evaluate lengthy expressions of squared amplitudes describing the resonant scalar transitions.

Unstable hadrons in hot hadron gas: In the laboratory and in the early Universe

We study kinetic master equations for chemical reactions involving the formation and the natural decay of unstable particles in a thermal bath. We consider the decay channel of one into two particles, and the inverse process, fusion of two thermal particles into one. We present the master equations the evolution of the density of the unstable particles in the early Universe. We obtain the thermal invariant reaction rate using as an input the free space (vacuum) decay time and show the medium quantum effects on $\pi+\pi \leftrightarrow \rho$ reaction relaxation time. As another laboratory example we describe the $K+K \leftrightarrow \phi$ process in thermal hadronic gas in heavy-ion collisions. A particularly interesting application of our formalism is the $\pi^{0}\leftrightarrow \gamma +\gamma$ process in the early Universe. We also explore the physics of $\pi^{\pm}$ and $\mu^{\pm}$ freeze-out in the Universe.

Lifetime and decay of unstable particles in strong gravitational fields

We consider here the decay of unstable particles in geodesic circular motion around compact objects. For the neutron, in particular, strong and weak decay are calculated by means of a semiclassical approach. Noticeable effects are expected to occur as one approaches the photonic circular orbit of realistic black holes. We argue that, in such a limit, the quasithermal spectrum inherent to extremely relativistic observers in circular motion plays a role similar to the Unruh radiation for uniformly accelerated observers.

POSSIBILITY OF A SIGNATURE OF THE RADIATIVE DECAY OF RELIC PARTICLES ON LIGHT ELEMENT ABUNDANCES

Recent spectroscopic observations of metal poor stars have indicated that both 7 Li and 6 Li have abundance plateaus as a function of the metallicity. Abundances of 7 Li are about a factor three lower than the primordial abundance predicted by standard big-bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN), and 6 Li abundances are ~ 1/20 of 7 Li , whereas SBBN predicts negligible amounts of 6 Li compared to the detected level. These discrepancies suggest that 6 Li has another cosmological or Galactic origin. Furthermore, it appear that 7 Li (and also 6 Li ) has been depleted from its primordial abundance by some post-BBN processes. We study the possibility that the radiative decay of long-lived particles has affected the cosmological lithium abundances in reality. We calculate the non-thermal nucleosynthesis associated with the radiative decay, and explore the allowed region of the parameters specifying the properties of long-lived particles. We also impose constraints from observations of the CMB energy spectrum. It is found that non-thermal nucleosynthesis could produces 6 Li at the level detected in metal poor halo stars (MPHSs), when the lifetime of the unstable particles is of the order ~ 108 − 1012 s depending on their initial abundance. We conclude that a combination of two different processes could explain the lithium isotopic abundances in MPHSs. First, a non-thermal cosmological nucleosynthesis associated with the radiative decay of unstable particles; and second, about the same degree of stellar depletion of both primordial lithium isotopic abundances. If MPHSs experience 6 Li depletion of factor much greater than ~ 3, the simple radiative decay process can not be the cause of large 6 Li abundances in MPHSs.

Li6production by the radiative decay of long-lived particles

Recent spectroscopic observations of metal-poor stars have indicated that both $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ have abundance plateaus with respect to the metallicity. Abundances of $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ are about a factor three lower than the primordial abundance predicted by standard big bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN), and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ abundances are $\ensuremath{\sim}1/20$ of $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$, whereas SBBN predicts negligible amounts of $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ compared to the detected level. These discrepancies suggest that $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ has another cosmological or Galactic origin than the SBBN. Furthermore, it would appear that $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ (and also $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$) has been depleted from its primordial abundance by some post-BBN processes. In this paper we study the possibility that the radiative decay of long-lived particles has affected the cosmological lithium abundances. We calculate the nonthermal nucleosynthesis associated with the radiative decay taking account both of the primary nuclear production reactions and the effects of secondary production as well as the destruction processes of energetic nuclides $\mathrm{D}$, $\mathrm{T}$, $^{3}\mathrm{He}$, $^{4}\mathrm{He}$, $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$, and $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$. We explore the allowed region of the parameters specifying the properties of long-lived particles. We also impose constraints from observations of the CMB energy spectrum. We find that nonthermal nucleosynthesis produces $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ at the level detected in metal-poor halo stars (MPHSs), when the lifetime of the unstable particles is of the order $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{8}--{10}^{12}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ and their initial abundance with respect to that of the photons is $\ensuremath{\sim}({10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}--{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV})/{E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}0}$, where ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}0}$ is the emitted photon energy in the radiative decay. We conclude that the most likely nucleosynthetic scenario involves two different processes. First, a nonthermal cosmological nucleosynthesis associated with the radiative decay of unstable particles; and second, the stellar depletion of both of the primordial lithium isotopic abundances.

The effects of unstable particles on light-element abundances: Lithium versus deuterium and 3He

We reconsider the effects of the radiation from the decays of unstable particles on the production and destruction of the primordial light elements, with a view to reconciling the high primordial 7Li abundance deduced from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), as implied by the baryon-to-photon ratio now inferred from the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with the lower abundance of 7Li observed in halo stars. The potential destruction of 7Li is strongly constrained by observations of deuterium (D), 3He and 6Li. We identify ranges for the unstable particle abundance and lifetime which would deplete 7Li while remaining consistent with the abundance of 6Li. However, in these regions either the D abundance is unacceptably low or the ratio 3He/D is unacceptably large. We conclude that late particle decay is unable to explain both the discrepancy of the calculated 7Li abundance and the observed 7Li plateau. In the context of supersymmetric theories with neutralino or gravitino dark matter, we display the corresponding light-element constraints on the model parameters.

Impossibility of distant indirect measurement of the quantum Zeno effect

We critically study the possibility of quantum Zeno effect for indirect measurements. If the detector is prepared to detect the emitted signal from the core system, and the detector does not reflect the signal back to the core system, then we can prove the decay probability of the system is not changed by the continuous measurement of the signal and the quantum Zeno effect never takes place. This argument also applies to the quantum Zeno effect for accelerated two-level systems, unstable particle decay, etc.