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Problem Set 1

1. The document is a physics problem set that contains 5 problems related to special relativity, particle physics, and electromagnetism. 2. Problem 1 asks about the relative proper times experienced by two observers, one at rest and one moving, in a finite, periodic universe. 3. Problem 2 asks about the minimum energy needed for a cosmic ray proton to collide with a CMB photon and produce a neutral pion, known as the GZK cutoff. 4. Problem 3 defines Mandelstam variables used to describe particle scattering and asks about their properties.

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147 views2 pages

Problem Set 1

1. The document is a physics problem set that contains 5 problems related to special relativity, particle physics, and electromagnetism. 2. Problem 1 asks about the relative proper times experienced by two observers, one at rest and one moving, in a finite, periodic universe. 3. Problem 2 asks about the minimum energy needed for a cosmic ray proton to collide with a CMB photon and produce a neutral pion, known as the GZK cutoff. 4. Problem 3 defines Mandelstam variables used to describe particle scattering and asks about their properties.

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Physics 364: Problem Set 1

Sean Carroll, Winter 2005 Due Wednesday 19 January, 12:00 noon. 1. Imagine that space (not spacetime) is actually a nite box, or in more sophisticated lingo, a three-torus, of size L. By this we mean that there is a coordinate system x = (t, x, y, z ) such that every point with coordinates (t, x, y, z ) is identied with every point with coordinates (t, x + L, y, z ), (t, x, y + L, z ), or (t, x, y, z + L). Note that the time coordinate is the same. Now consider two observers; observer A is at rest in this coordinate system (constant spatial coordinates), while observer B moves in the x-direction with constant velocity v . A and B begin at the same event, and while A remains still B moves once around the universe and comes back to intersect the worldline of A without ever having to accelerate (since the universe is periodic). What are the relative proper times experienced in this interval by A and B ? Is this consistent with your understanding of Lorentz invariance? 2. A cosmic-ray proton (mass 940 MeV) travels through space at high velocity. If the center-of-mass energy is high enough, it can collide with a cosmic microwave background (CMB) photon (the temperature of the CMB is 2.74K in its overall rest frame) and convert into a proton plus a neutral pion (mass 140 MeV). The pion will then decay into unobservable particles, while the proton will have a lower energy than before the collision. What is the cosmic-ray energy above which we expect this process to occur, and therefore provide a cuto in the cosmic-ray spectrum? (This is known as the Griesen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin, or GZK, cuto. In fact there are observational indications that it is violated, which might be a sign of new physics even, some have suggested, a violation of special relativity.) 3. A common occurence in particle physics is the scattering of two particles A + B into two new particles C + D. For such events it is convenient to dene Mandelstam variables:
s = (p A + pB )(pA + pB ) t = (p A pC )(pA pC ) u = (p A pD )(pA pD ) ,

where p i are the 4-momenta. The beauty of these variables is that they are all Lorentzinvariant. 1

2 2 2 (a) Show that s + t + u = m2 A + mB + mC + mD .

(b) Express the energy of A in the center-of-mass (CM) frame (in which the spatial components of the total momentum vanish), in terms of the masses and the Mandelstam variables. (c) Express the energy of A in the lab frame, in which B is at rest. (d) Express the total energy in the CM frame. (e) For scattering of identical particles, A + A A + A, show that in the CM frame we have s = 4(p2 + m2 A) t = 2p2 (1 cos ) u = 2p2 (1 + cos ) , where p is the 3-momentum of one of the incident particles, and is the scattering angle. 4. Using the tensor transformation law applied to F , show how the electric and magentic eld 3-vectors E and B transform under (a) a rotation about the y -axis, (b) a boost along the z -axis. 5. Consider Maxwells electromagnetism with J = 0. The equations of motion are F = 0 , and the energy-momentum tensor is 1 T = F F F F . 4 (0.1) [ F] = 0

(a) Express the components of the energy-momentum tensor in three-vector notation, using the divergence, curl, electric and magnetic elds, and an overdot to denote time derivatives. (b) Using the equations of motion, verify that the energy-momentum tensor is conserved.

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