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waterliyl
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Hi, so we are studying quantum physics at college and I just want to understand this concept of decay. Please could someone help me?
waterliyl said:Thanks! That's really helpful :)
But I guess it can happen the other way too right? I don't understand how one particle can change into another particle unless all particles are made of sort of a base of particles, which are quarks I guess but I thought electrons and neutrinos are leptons, and therefore don't have quarks so why do particles change into them?
mathman said:Never ask "why". They just do.
Without trying to address the specific question, these theories are accepted because they very accurately agree with measured information.waterliyl said:But why do we follow these principals ourselves? For instance we think know that an electron neutrino exists but actually, we just know that there is something out there which matches up with these equations and because logically if it has the characteristics of what we think we have found, then we have found it. but aren't we then just finding things because we are looking for it - therefore, creating these "explanations" up for ourselves?
lpetrich said:Most Grand Unified Theories predict that free protons will decay. They also predict that neutrons will decay by essentially the same process, but for free neutrons, that decay channel is teeny teeny teeny tiny compared to the weak-interaction decay channel. These processes will also make protons and neutrons in nuclei decay, so neutron decay might be observed in otherwise-stable nuclei.
There have been lots of searches for proton decay since the 1980's, and the latest experimental lower limit is about 10^(32) years. That's getting close to what some GUT's predict.
lpetrich said:I don't see how they violate baryon number and lepton number, because at first sight, the Standard Model conserves both of them.
Breo said:I am reading a textbook and have just seen a problem which I do not understand what it means, can I ask you?
Breo said:what means that a fermion bilinear cancel for a Majorana fermion
Proton decay is a hypothetical process in which a proton, one of the fundamental particles that make up an atom, can spontaneously break down into smaller particles. This concept is important in college physics because it is a key component of the Grand Unified Theory, which seeks to explain the fundamental forces of the universe and unify them into a single framework.
According to current theories, proton decay can occur through a process called baryon number violation, in which the baryon number (a quantum number that represents the number of quarks in a particle) is not conserved. This can happen through the exchange of particles called X and Y bosons, which are predicted by the Grand Unified Theory.
So far, there is no experimental evidence for proton decay. However, scientists have been searching for it using large underground detectors, such as the Super-Kamiokande in Japan and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in the United States. These experiments are looking for specific decay modes that would confirm the existence of proton decay.
If proton decay is observed, it would have significant implications for our understanding of the universe. It would provide evidence for the Grand Unified Theory and help us better understand the fundamental forces and particles that make up our universe. It could also help explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry and the excess of matter over antimatter in the universe.
While there are currently no practical applications of understanding proton decay, it could lead to advancements in our understanding of the universe and potentially inspire new technologies. Additionally, the research and experiments conducted to study proton decay could have spin-off benefits in other areas of science and technology.