Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/section-b/9/solution
Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Section B 9 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Momentum identity. From the Lorentz factor, . The relativistic three-momentum therefore satisfiesTogether with relativistic energy , this gives the energy–momentum relation .
Parent in the laboratory. The rest energy is , while the total relativistic energy is . ConsequentlyIts momentum magnitude is .
Daughters in the zero-momentum frame. The centre-of-momentum frame is initially the parent's rest frame. Conservation of momentum gives . Equal daughter rest masses then imply equal relativistic energies. Conservation of relativistic energy givesTheir speeds are thereforeThe two velocities are opposite, and . Their total kinetic energy is .
Invariant of the complete system. Before the decay, in the centre-of-momentum frame,After the relativistic two-body decay,In the laboratory, four-momentum conservation fixes the summed daughter energy to and their summed momentum to the parent's . Thus the same calculation isThe invariant is formed after summing the daughter four-momenta; adding their separate squared rest energies would omit the relative-motion contribution to the invariant mass of the pair.
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