Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/ia/paper-4/12b/solution

Let be the magnitude of the incident particle's momentum. The relativistic energy-momentum relation gives
The 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 implies
Using therefore gives , so
At zero incident speed the momenta are equal and opposite, so , consistent with the expansion.

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