Quarks and Leptons

 Explain how we can find new particles

 State whether we can predict new particles

 Describe strange particles

 Cosmic rays from space interact with particles in
the Earth’s atmosphere and make new particles
and antiparticles

 Most cosmic rays are fast moving protons or

small nuclei.

 Cosmic rays collide with gas particles creating

particles and antiparticles.
 New particles discovered

Muon m heavy electron, negative

charge, 200 x mass of
electron.

Pion p or p meson can be positive p+, negative

p- or neutral p0. Rest mass
greater than a muon but less
than a proton
Kaon K or K meson can be positive K+, negative
K- or neutral K0. Rest mass
greater than a pion but less
than a proton
 Hideki Yukawa predicted existence of
exchange particles for the strong nuclear force.

 He predicted their range and calculated their

mass to be between an electron and a proton
hence the name Meson

 Discovered years later by Cecil Powell.

 Short lived particles detected in cloud chamber
– Kaons
 Pions and Kaons are produced in twos during
the strong interaction when high speed protons
crash into nuclei.
 Kaons decay producing pions via the weak
interaction.
 Kaons were known as the Strange Particles
 The new particles can be created using
accelerators.

 Proton – Proton Kinetic energy of protons is

converted to mass in creation of new particles.

 Antiparticles including the antimuon were

detected.
 Kaon can decay into pions, or a muon and an
antineutrino or an antimuon and a neutrino.

 Charged pion can decay into a muon and an

antineutrino, or an antimuon and a neutrino. A
po meson decays into high energy photons.

 Muon decays into an electron and an

antineutrino. Antimuon decays into a positron
and a neutrino.
Quarks and Leptons
 Recognise Leptons

 Recognise Hadrons

 Classify Particles
 How do the new particles fit in with protons,
neutrons and electrons?

 New particles are created through high energy

interactions.

 Apart from the neutrino the new particles decay

into other particles and antiparticles.
 Particles can be divided into two groups

Hadrons Leptons
Interact through all four Interact through the
fundamental weak interaction, the
interactions including gravitational interaction
the strong nuclear and through the
force. electromagnetic
Heavier particles. interaction if charged.
Apart from proton Lighter particles.
decay through weak e.g. electrons, muons,
interaction. neutrinos.
e.g. protons, neutrons, p
mesons and K mesons.
 Baryons are protons and all other hadrons
(including neutrons) that decay into protons
either directly or indirectly.

 Mesons are hadrons that do not include protons

in their decay products. Kaons and pions.
 Protons

Neutrons
Baryons
Antiproton

hadrons antineutron

Kaons
Mesons
matter and
pions
antimatter
Electrons

Positrons
Leptons
Neutrino

muons
 LHC is a ring shaped collider that boosts Kinetic
Energy of charged particles at several places in
the ring.
 When the particles collide
 The total energy of particles and antiparticles
before the collision = rest energy and kinetic
energy.
 The total energy of the new particles and
antiparticles after the collision = rest energy +
kinetic energy
The rest energy Total energy The kinetic
= -
of the products before energy of
the products
Quarks and Leptons
 Define strange particles
 Define quarks and explain how we know they
exist.
 Explain the quark changes that happen in Beta
Decay
 Explain why it could be said that there are no
antimesons
 Kaons were first called V particles.
 V particles were called strange because they
decay either into pions only or into pions and
protons.
 Those decaying into pions only were called
Kaons
 Strange particles are created in twos.
 The others e.g. Sigma(S) particle were found to
have
 Different rest masses always greater than the
proton.
 Decay either in sequence or directly into protons
and pions.
 Properties of hadrons charge, strangeness and
rest mass can all be explained assuming they
are made from smaller particles.
 Three different types of quarks and
corresponding antiquarks need to be studied.
 Strange, s
 Up, u
 Down, d
 Quarks Antiquarks
Up Down Strange Up Down Strange
u d s u d s
Charge Q 2 1 1 2 1 1
+ - - - + +
3 3 3 3 3 3

Strangeness S 0 0 -1 0 0 +1
Baryon number +
1
+
1
+
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
B 3 3 3 3 3 3
 Mesons
 Hadrons containing a quark and an antiquark
 A po can be any quark-antiquark combination
 Each pair of charged mesons is a particle-
antiparticle pair
o o
 Two uncharged kaons K and K
 Antiparticle of any meson is a quark-antiquark
pair and therefore another meson.
 Baryons are hadrons that consist of three quarks.
 Antibaryons are hadrons that consist of three
antiquarks.
 Proton uud
 Neutron udd
 Antiproton uud
 The S particle is a baryon that has a strange
quark.
 The proton is the only stable baryon.
 b+ decay an up quark changes to a down quark
 b- decay a down quark changes to an up quark
Quarks and Leptons
 Recall the particles that are Leptons
 Consider whether leptons are
elementary
 Distinguish between different types of
Neutrinos
 Evaluate the importance of lepton
numbers
 Neutrinos interact very little
 Muons are short lived
 Electrons would repel each other

 Leptons and antileptons can interact to

produce hadrons.
 Neutrinos and antineutrinos produced in beta
decays are different from those produced by
muon decay.
 Neutrinos and antineutrinos produced from
muon decay go on to produce muons and no
electrons when interacting with protons and
neutrons.
 Two types of neutrino the muon neutrino nm and
the electron neutrino ne.
 Leptons can change into other leptons through
weak interaction

 Leptons can be produced or annihilated in

particle-antiparticle interactions.

 Leptons cannot be broken down - they are

fundamental particles.
 Neutrino or antineutrino can change into or
form a corresponding charged lepton.
 An electron neutrino can interact with a neutron
to produce a proton and an electron.

n e + n ® p + e-
 The following, however is not possible. Lepton
number is not conserved.
n e + n ¹ p + e+
 Muon changes to a muon neutrino
 Electron created to conserve charge
 Corresponding antineutrino created to
conserve lepton number

m ® e + ne + nm
- -

 The following is not possible

m ¹ e + ne + nm
- -
 m ¾¾
-
®e + n e + nm
? -

 Lepton number is conserved as well as charge

 This change is never seen
 Muon can only change into a muon neutrino
 Muon cannot change into a muon antineutrino
 Electron only created with an electron
antineutrino
 Apply conservation of lepton number
separately to electrons and muons.
Quarks and Leptons
 State the conservation rules for particle
interactions

 Explain what is sometimes conserved

 Explain what is never conserved

 Possess energy

 Charged or uncharged

 May have non-zero strangeness

 May not be stable

1. Conservation of Energy
 Applies to all changes in science.
 Includes rest energy of the particles

2. Conservation of Charge
 Applies to all changes in science
3. Conservation of Lepton Numbers
 Total lepton number before interaction is equal to
total lepton number after.
4. Conservation of strangeness
 Applies in any strong interaction
 Conservation of energy includes rest energy of
the particles
5. Conservation of Baryon Numbers
 Applies to all particle and antiparticle interactions
 The total baryon number before the change is
equal to that after the change
 There is no equivalent meson rule.
 Strangeness is not necessarily conserved when
the weak interaction is involved. It can be
unchanged or changed by +1 or -1.