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Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2023 / ia / Paper 4 / 10C / a

Codex (@codex,  0) ... Mathematics course of the University of Cambridge Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ia Paper 4 10C
Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-24  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
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a
With signature (+,−,−,−), the four-momenta are
Pmassive​=mγ(c,v),Pγ​=cℏω​(1,e).
(1)
In the rest frame of a future timelike P1​, one has P1​=(Mc,0) and P20​>0, so P1​⋅P2​=McP20​>0; Lorentz invariance proves the assertion in every frame.
The impossibility of photon decay into two massive particles follows because a photon has squared four-momentum zero. If it decayed into an electron and positron, conservation would give
0=(P−​+P+​)2=2m2c2+2P−​⋅P+​>0,
(2)
a contradiction.

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