Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/ia/paper-4/12b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 4 12B Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the magnitude of the incident particle's momentum. The relativistic energy-momentum relation givesThe stationary particle contributes rest energy and zero momentum. Conservation of four-momentum therefore gives equal photon energies . A photon has momentum magnitude , so if the two momentum vectors meet at angle ,Substitution gives the angular relation for two-photon electron-positron annihilation, whose derivation depends only on the stipulated equal rest masses and equal photon energies:All energies and the angle here are in the laboratory inertial frame.
For perpendicular photon trajectories, and hence . Since with Lorentz factor ,For the small-speed limit, set and . The angle formula impliesUsing therefore gives , soAt zero incident speed the momenta are equal and opposite, so , consistent with the expansion.
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