Spontaneous breakdown of an unstable subatomic particle into other particles
In particle physics, particle decay is the spontaneous process of one unstable subatomic particle transforming into multiple other particles. The particles created in this process (the final state) must each be less massive than the original, although the total mass of the system must be conserved. A particle is unstable if there is at least one allowed final state that it can decay into. Unstable particles will often have multiple ways of decaying, each with its own associated probability. Decays are mediated by one or several fundamental forces. The particles in the final state may themselves be unstable and subject to further decay.
The term is typically distinct from radioactive decay, in which an unstable atomic nucleus is transformed into a lighter nucleus accompanied by the emission of particles or radiation, although the two are conceptually similar and are often described using the same terminology.
In particle physics, particledecay is the spontaneous process of one unstable subatomic particle transforming into multiple other particles. The particles...
generally produced in the process of alpha decay but may also be produced in other ways. Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek...
In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron)...
beta particle, also called beta ray or beta radiation (symbol β), is a high-energy, high-speed electron or positron emitted by the radioactive decay of...
In particle physics, proton decay is a hypothetical form of particledecay in which the proton decays into lighter subatomic particles, such as a neutral...
the decay system, called invariant mass, which does not change during the decay, even though the energy of decay is distributed among decayparticles. The...
couples to (interacts with) mass. It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately upon generation. The Higgs field is a scalar...
of its decay products is small, providing few kinetic degrees of freedom for decay. Muon decay almost always produces at least three particles, which...
decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus) and thereby transforms or "decays"...
physics, a subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a...
decay is a prominent quantity in many sub-fields of particle physics, such as chiral perturbation theory. This rate is parametrized by the pion decay...
the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms: The weak interaction participates in...
S. Biswas of the University of Melbourne, as a neutral V particle with a proton as a decay product, thus correctly distinguishing it as a baryon, rather...
mostly a result of radioactive decay and secondary radiation from atmospheric interactions with cosmic ray particles. However, there are other rare natural...
exist. Particles in higher generations generally have greater mass and less stability, causing them to decay into lower-generation particles by means...
carrier particle for the electromagnetic force. The W± bosons are best known for their role in nuclear decay. Consider, for example, the beta decay of cobalt-60...
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model...
subatomic particles which have no charge; neutron radiation neutrinos mesons muons Mechanisms that produce particle radiation include: alpha decay Auger effect...
orbit Particledecay Radioactive decay Optical decay, in quantum physics Exponential decayDecay theory, in psychology and memory Social decay (decadence)...
this light neutral particle from Chadwick's heavy neutron. In Fermi's theory of beta decay, Chadwick's large neutral particle could decay to a proton, electron...
name to the decay process. In these reactions, the original particle is not composed of the product particles; rather, the product particles are created...
appeared to be a neutral particledecaying into two charged pions, and one which appeared to be a charged particledecaying into a charged pion and something...
will rapidly change into electrons and neutrinos through a process of particledecay: the transformation from a higher mass state to a lower mass state....
beta particle (β+), the other beta particle being the electron (β−) emitted from the β− decay of a nucleus. An example of positron emission (β+ decay) is...
ionizing subatomic particles include alpha particles, beta particles, and neutrons. These are typically created by radioactive decay, and almost all are...
known as a Majorana particle. In 1939, Wendell H. Furry proposed that if neutrinos are Majorana particles, then double beta decay can proceed without...
and the environment. Alpha decay is characterized by the emission of an alpha particle, a 4He nucleus. The mode of this decay causes the parent nucleus...
a decay, the invariant mass calculated using the energy and momentum of the decay products of a single particle is equal to the mass of the particle that...
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