Pair Production

(conversion of electromagnetic energy into matter)

• Photon can give all of its energy to an electron-----photoelectric effect.

OR part of its energy ----- Compton effect.
• It is also possible that a photon can materialize into an electron and a
positron. This is called pair production. Pair production can't take place in free
space as in free space momentum will not be conserved.so presence of atomic
nucleus is required.
Minimum energy required for pair production is 1.02 MeV as both
electron and positron have rest mass energy 𝑚0 𝑐 2 = .511 MeV
Additional photon energy become K.E. of electron and positron
(shared equally).
Since 1.02 MeV or more energy is of 𝛾-rays or hard X-rays). So 𝛾- rays and
hard x-rays lose their energy by pair production.
• Reverse of this process is pair annihilation.
𝑒− + 𝑒+ = 𝛾 + 𝛾
##Show that pair production can not occur in free space (or vacuum).
OR
Why pair production occurs near nucleus?
OR
Why presence of nucleus is required for pair production?

𝑒−
photon(ℎ𝜈)
𝑒 − (m𝑐 2 ) ℎ𝜈, ℎ𝜈
p
𝑐 θ X-axis
θ
p
𝑒+
nucleus
𝑒 + (m𝑐 2 )
• From conservation of energy
ℎ𝜈 = 2𝑚𝑐 2
𝑚𝑜 1
𝑚= 2
= 𝛾 𝑚𝑜 , where 𝛾 =
𝑣 𝑣2
1− 2 1− 2
𝑐 𝑐
ℎ𝜈 = 2𝛾 𝑚𝑐 2
From conservation of momentum
ℎ𝜈
= 2p cos(θ)
𝑐
ℎ𝜈 = 2 pc cos(θ)
p = 𝛾 𝑚𝑜 𝑣
𝑣
ℎ𝜈 = 2𝛾 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 ( ) cos(θ)
𝑐
𝑣
< 1, cos(θ) ≤ 1
𝑐
ℎ𝜈 < 2𝛾 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
But conservation of energy requires
ℎ𝜈 = 2𝛾 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
• So it is impossible to conserve energy and momentum in absence of an
object (atomic nucleus) unless some other object is involved in the
process to carry away part of the initial photon momentum.

Matter Waves
Matter exhibits wave like behavior when it is in motion e.g. beam of electrons
can be diffracted just like light wave or water wave.
(diffraction is purely wave phenomenon: Davisson-Germer experiment)
This concept was proposed by Louis de-Broglie, called de-Broglie hypothesis.
The wavelength of matter waves/de-Broglie waves is given by
ℎ
λ=
𝑝
h- Plank’s constant
p = mv momentum
Wave also behave like particle (e.g. photoelectric effect, Compton effect)
Wave-particle duality