Nuclear and particle physics

Lecture 14 part 1 Prof. Guy Wilkinson

guy.wilkinson@physics.ox.ac.uk

Michaelmas Term 2021

Scattering • Cross section: concept and applications
theory
• Classical cross-section calculations
handouts:
• Cross-section calculations in quantum mechanics
• Scattering off extended distributions: form factors
• Resonances and the Breit-Wigner function
 Breit-Wigner distribution: essential properties
𝜋𝑔 Γ𝑖 Γ𝑓
𝜎𝑖→𝑓 𝐸 =
𝑘 2 (𝐸0 − 𝐸)2 +Γ 2 /4

• If 𝑖 = 𝑓 we have elastic scattering

• Total cross section 𝜎tot = σ𝑓 𝜎𝑖→𝑓 .
• Sum of partial widths = full width,
i.e. Γ = σ𝑓 Γ𝑓

• As already shown, Γ = ℏ/𝜏 . In the relativistic case, relevant in particle physics,

where 𝐸 is the total centre-of-mass energy, we can associate 𝐸0 , the pole of the
resonance, with the mass 𝑀 of the short-lived particle through 𝑀 = 𝐸0 /𝑐 2 .
𝜋𝑔 4Γ𝑖 Γ𝑓
• At peak of resonance, 𝜎𝑖→𝑓 𝐸0 =
𝑘 2 Γ2
Note height of resonance will vary depending on final state through different Γ𝑓 in
numerator, but width will not ! Lifetime of particle does not depend on decay mode !
• Probability of decay into a final state 𝑓 is the branching fraction (or branching ratio) 𝐵𝑓 .
𝐵𝑓 = 𝜎𝑖→𝑓 /𝜎𝑖,tot = Γ𝑓 /Γ .
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 Aside on reconstructing short-lived states
We are discussing scattering, but the Breit-Wigner characteristics of short-lived
particles also manifest themselves if they are reconstructed through the invariant
mass of the decay products. This is a widely used technique in particle physics.

NB method works equally well

for non-identical particles and
for final states of > 2 particles.

2 1/2
The quantity 𝑚2𝑐 4 𝑝12 𝑐 2 1/2
+ + 𝑚2 𝑐 4 + 𝑝22 𝑐 2 1/2 − 𝑝1 + 𝑝2 2𝑐2 is
the invariant mass of the final state system and corresponds to the rest mass 𝑀
of the initial state. No need to know 𝐸 or 𝑝Ԧ of the decaying particle !
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 Aside on reconstructing short-lived states:
the invariant mass
2 1/2
Invariant mass: 𝑚2𝑐 4 + 𝑝12 𝑐 2 1/2 + 𝑚2𝑐 4 + 𝑝22 𝑐 2 1/2 − 𝑝1 + 𝑝2 2𝑐 2

Now, we showed that the probability of finding a

decaying particle of nominal mass 𝐸0 /𝑐 2 at
energy 𝐸 is given by: 1
𝑃 𝐸 ∝
(𝐸0 − 𝐸)2 +Γ2 /4

Hence this if we reconstruct this invariant mass for

many decays, and fill a histogram with the results,
we do not in general expect a delta-function. Rather, we will obtain a Breit-Wigner
distribution of width Γ that tells us the lifetime of the decaying particle !
Two (related) practical caveats:
• Experimental resolution on invariant mass is not perfect, and is
a few MeV/c2 for most current detectors, so any underlying physics
distribution will appear convolved with the experimental resolution;
• Hence with this method we are only sensitive to decay widths
of a few 10s to 100s of MeV.
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 Aside on reconstructing short-lived states:
the invariant mass
Here is a vivid example
from the ZEUS experiment.

A 𝜌 meson, which has a mass

[ZEUS, arXiv:0708.1478]
of around 0.77 GeV/c2, has
been reconstructed by
histogramming the invariant
mass of its two decay products
(two charged pions).

A clear Breit-Wigner is seen,

with a width much larger than
the experimental resolution,
meaning we have real sensitivity to
the particle’s lifetime.

The fitted width is 154 MeV (now expressing the mass scale as an energy)
ℏ
𝜏= ~ 4 × 10−24 𝑠
Γ 5
 Aside on reconstructing short-lived states:
the invariant mass
Another example: histogramming
background
the invariant mass of high-energy
photon pairs in the ATLAS
experiment at the LHC.

The falling exponential that

dominates the plot is contamination something
happening here…
arising from random combinations
of photons that come from
Background subtracted
background processes.

A small, but clear, bump is seen

around 125 GeV. This comes from
decays of the type:

𝐻 → 𝛾𝛾 [ATLAS, Phys. Lett. B 716 (2012) 1; also Gianotti

& Virdee, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 737: 20140384]

So this technique has discovered the Higgs boson ! The peak, once background is subtracted,
has a definite width. But this width is dominated by experimental resolution, not lifetime.
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Nuclear and particle physics
Lecture 14 part 2 Prof. Guy Wilkinson
guy.wilkinson@physics.ox.ac.uk

Michaelmas Term 2021

Particle physics handouts set 1:
Introduction Hadrons, quarks & the strong interaction
• The Standard Model • Hadrons & their quantum numbers
• Natural units • The light quark model
• Feynman diagrams • Colour & QCD
• Quarkonia
• The R ratio
Particle physics
 Particle physics: topic overview
Introduction Leptons and the weak interaction
• The Standard Model • Lepton overview & conservation laws
• Natural units • Fermi theory revisited: lepton decays
• Feynman diagrams & neutrino scattering
• Electroweak theory
Hadrons, quarks & the strong interaction • Cabibbo mixing
• Parity violation
• Hadrons & their quantum numbers
• Discovery & properties of the W & Z
• The light quark model
• Colour & QCD
Epilogue and outlook
• Quarkonia
• The R ratio

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Particle physics: topic overview

Introduction
• The Standard Model
• Natural units
• Feynman diagrams

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 Standard Model of Particle Physics
Spoiler alert! We begin with a few slides that summarise our current understanding
of the fundamental interactions and particles (apart from gravity), which comprises the
Standard Model of particle physics. We will then step through those sub-topics of the
Standard Model which are on the syllabus, discussing each in (roughly) historical order.
Interactions described by the Standard Model: The Standard Model Lagrangian density

• Electromagnetism
• Weak interaction
Unified within a single electroweak interaction,
in which the Higgs mechanism plays an important
part, giving masses to the W and Z bosons, as well
as to the quarks and charged leptons.
Cabibbo mixing, parity (P) violation and CP violation
are all important attributes of the weak interaction.
• Strong interaction
Described by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which explains the existence of hadrons.
Mathematically, the interactions can be shown to arise from the invariance of the Lagrangian
under so-called gauge symmetries: SU(3) for the strong interaction, and SU(2) x U(1) for
electroweak. Hence the associated force-carrying particles are called gauge bosons.
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 Particle content of the Standard Model
Three generations of fermions, involving an ‘up-type’ (charge +2/3e) and a `down-type’
(charge -1/3e) quark, a charged lepton and a neutral neutrino. Leptons do not experience
the strong interaction. Note that anti-fermion counterparts also exist.
We don’t know:
- why nature replicates this
fermion structure over three
generations;
- the reason for the extreme
variation in mass (the up
and down quarks `weigh’
essentially nothing; the top
quark has the mass of a
gold nucleus), and the striking
hierarchy of the elements in
the matrix that couples them
to the weak interaction;
- how the neutrinos got their
masses, & why they are so small.

These different varieties of quarks and leptons are called `flavours’.

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 Particle content of the Standard Model
Four categories of vector (spin-1) gauge bosons, which mediate the strong & electroweak
interactions. The gluon & photon are massless. The gluon comes in eight states carrying
different superpositions of colour charge. The neutral Z0 & the charged W+/ W- are massive.

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 Particle content of the Standard Model
The Higgs boson is the only known fundamental scalar (spin 0) particle in nature. It is
an excitation of the Higgs field that gives mass to the quarks, charged leptons, & the
W & Z. Although the second most massive of the fundamental particles, it is much lighter
than a priori arguments would predict, which constitutes another profound mystery.

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 Not on
Unanswered questions in the Standard Model syllabus !

The Standard Model was fully formulated by the 1970s. Since then the existence of its
remaining particle contents have been successively verified, culminating with the discovery
of the Higgs boson in 2012. It has withstood all experimental tests in the laboratory
(mostly at colliders), albeit with a few outstanding anomalies, which may or may not persist.
However, there are many problems and unanswered questions.
Those encountered already:
• The Higgs is too light;
• Too many free parameters;
• Striking and unexplained patterns in
the flavour sector;
• No explanation for neutrino mass.
And many additional ones, e.g.:
• No candidate for a dark matter particle;
• It does not include gravity;
• It does not explain the baryon-antibaryon asymmetry in the universe
(i.e. why the universe is overwhelming made of matter, not anti-matter);
• No explanation for dark energy.
We won’t ponder on the answers to these in our lectures, but the search for ‘New Physics’
to address at least some of these issues is what drives current studies at the LHC & beyond.
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Particle physics: topic overview

Introduction
• The Standard Model
• Natural units
• Feynman diagrams

16
 A word about natural units
In particle physics it is common to work in natural units, where 𝑐 = ℏ = 1 (also often with
𝜀0 = 𝜇0 = 1, which implies 𝑒 = 4𝜋𝛼 = 0.303). The most prominent consequence is:
(or MeV, but in particle
energy and mass have same units: GeV physics we are usually
in the GeV regime)

It also means that length and time have units of GeV-1, which can certainly be confusing.

We can calculate the conversion ℏ𝑐 = 0.197 GeV fm

factors for length and area thus: 1 = 0.197 GeV fm
1 fm = 5.08 GeV -1
⇒
1 barn =2580 GeV -2
and also for time:
ℏ = 6.58 × 10−25 GeV s
1 = 6.58 × 10−25 GeV s
⇒ 1 s = 1.52 × 1024 GeV -1

In this course we will generally be sticking to SI units, apart from the energy / mass case.
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Particle physics: topic overview

Introduction
• The Standard Model
• Natural units
• Feynman diagrams

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 Feynman diagrams
First introduced in 1948 by Richard Feynman, as a tool in his studies of QED, Feynman
diagrams are an exceeding useful visual and calculational tool in quantum field theory.

Richard Feynman,
1918-1988; American;
Nobel Prize for Physics 1965

Let us first concentrate on the visual aspects & conventions, before making some remarks
on their role in calculations. We will cover all of the Standard Model, apart from the Higgs.

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 Feynman diagrams
Leading order diagram for 𝑒 + 𝑒 − → 𝜇+ 𝜇−

Initial and final state fermions. These

lines have only a single vertex, which
means they are real, on-shell particles

This line between two vertices is the

space

propagator (here the photon propagator). The

propagator is in general a virtual particle, i.e. not on
mass shell, by which we mean 𝐸2 − 𝑝2 𝑐 2 ≠ 𝑚2 𝑐 4.
time 20
Dramatis personae

fermion

photon, 𝑊 ± or 𝑍

gluon

scalar boson, of which the only known

fundamental example is the Higgs

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 Remarks on arrows
Feynman appreciated that mathematically an antiparticle travelling forwards
in time is the same as an particle travelling backwards. This is important for the
calculations and can be represented in the choice of arrow direction and labels.
e.g., with time running left to right:

𝒆− electron

𝒆− positron

But many people find this labelling of the antiparticle confusing, so instead write

𝒆+ positron

This is clearer, but logically make no sense. So others (including me) prefer the simpler

𝒆+ positron

Purists (and possibly examiners) will sneer and say this is incorrect, and there are
certainly diagrams where this is a bad choice, but it is the one I shall be generally using.
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 Allowed vertices involving fermions

Here 𝑓must be charged,

so can’t be a neutrino.

ഥ
𝒒′

Corresponding diagrams This is the only diagram in the

exist for 𝑊 + case. Standard Model that violates flavour.

All vertices involve three particles: one boson & two fermions or two quarks, never a
quark & a lepton. All vertices satisfy charge conservation. Higgs vertices not shown.
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Allowed vertices involving bosons alone

Here we have restricted ourselves to three-boson vertices, but four-boson coupling

is also allowed. As on previous slide we do not show Higgs cases here.
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Rotated vertices, scattering and annihilation
All the vertices may be drawn rotated, provided they satisfy the conservation laws.

𝑒+𝑒− → 𝑒+𝑒−

Annihilation Scattering
‘s-channel’ ‘t-channel’

Here the same vertices appear in both diagrams, but rotated, to give two different
topologies, which both contribute as separate amplitudes to the matrix element.
2
So, to first order 𝑀𝑖𝑓 = 𝑀𝑠 + 𝑀𝑡 2 .

(In general, diagrams may have different phases, so destructive interference is possible.)
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Rotated vertices, scattering and annihilation
All the vertices may be drawn rotated, provided they satisfy the conservation laws.

𝑒−𝑒− → 𝑒−𝑒−
𝑒− 𝑒− 𝑒− 𝑒−

𝑒− 𝑒− 𝑒− 𝑒−
Scattering Scattering
‘t-channel’ ‘u-channel’

Initial state particles are identical means no annihilation diagram, but we have another
scattering diagram as we don’t know which vertices the final state electrons come from.
2
So, to first order 𝑀𝑖𝑓 = 𝑀𝑡 + 𝑀𝑢 2 .

(In general, diagrams may have different phases, so destructive interference is possible.)
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Rotated vertices, scattering and annihilation
All the vertices may be drawn rotated, provided they satisfy the conservation laws.

𝑒 + 𝑒 − → 𝜇+ 𝜇−

𝜇+ 𝜇+ 𝜇+

𝜇− 𝜇− 𝜇−
Annihilation Scattering
‘s-channel’ ‘t-channel’

In this case the scattering diagram is forbidden as it involves flavour changes at

both vertices (not allowed for a photon). This is a consequence of the initial and
final-state particles being different, which was not the case for 𝑒 +𝑒 − ⟶ 𝑒 +𝑒 − .
2
So, here, at first order 𝑀𝑖𝑓 = 𝑀𝑠 2 .

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