Annihilation

Look at the annihilation of an electron and its anti-particle (positron)

e- e+
 Annihilation
Why are two photons of energy produced and not just one? (Hint:
any collision must obey all conservation laws)

• One photon only could conserve charge and mass/energy

• But to conserve momentum two photons moving in opposite
directions must exist
 Pair Production
A high energy photon like a g-ray can vanish to form a pair particle –
anti-particle. This is the opposite of annihilation and we call it PAIR
PRODUCTION.

e+ e-
 Pair Production
In what way would a third particle, e.g. nucleus or electron, get
involved in this reaction? (Hint: again all conservation laws
must apply)

• The third particle recoils and carries away some of the energy
of the photon
• The recoil ensures that the momentum is also conserved
Classifying Particles:
Hadrons & Leptons

Learning Objective:
What is the standard model and how do
physicists classify particles?
Learning Outcomes
• State the names of the two basic ‘families’ of
particles. (D)
• Describe the properties of hadrons and give
examples. (D-C)
• State the names of the two groups of hadrons
and describe their differences in terms of (D-
C)
• Explain the significance of the proton in terms
of baryon decay. (C)
• State examples of leptons and their
differences in terms of lepton number. (D)
 01/11/2022

Hadrons & Leptons

Key Words

• baryon
• meson
• pion
• kaon
• quark
• muon
Murray Gell-Mann
1929 - 2019
Key Science: SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES

Do not experience the

Experience the
strong nuclear force and
strong nuclear force
are fundamental.
e.g. electrons
 SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES
All hadrons except the proton are
Hadrons unstable and will decay. Leptons
(“Bulky”) (“Light”)
Experience the Do not experience the
strong nuclear force Mesons strong nuclear force
and are fundamental.
• e.g. pion, kaon e.g. electrons

• Particles with a mass

somewhere between that
Baryons
of an electron and a
proton
• e.g. proton and • Baryon number = 0
neutron, sigmas
Σ
“Quark / Antiquark Pair”
• Baryon number =
1 “Tri Quarks & Antiquarks
plet
s” • up / down • Described
• strange / charm 1. by;
Charge Q
2. Baryon number B
• top / bottom
3. Strangeness S
Hadrons
Hadron Type Name Symbol

Baryons Proton p

Neutron n

Mesons Pion p0
 
p+

Kaon K+
 
K0
Key Science: quarks
Fundamental particles – have no internal structure.
Generation Name Symbol Charge Baryon
Number
I Up u
I Down d
II strange s
II Charm c
III Bottom b
III Top t

Quarks experience the strong nuclear force

Key Science: Leptons
Fundamental particles – have no internal structure.
Generation Name Symbol Charge Lepton
Number
I electron e- -1e 1
I electron ne 0 1
neutrino

II muon m -1e 1
II muon nm 0 1
neutrino
III Tau 𝝉 -1e 1
III Tau neutrino
n𝝉 0 1

Leptons don’t experience the strong nuclear force

 01/11/2022

Generations; flavours… what

next?

• Generation refers to ‘families’ of

particles with similar flavour
quantum number and mass but
they interact similarly
• Flavour basically refers to their
mass and charge (which classifies
their name) eg, up, down…
The standard model
Mass-Energy Equivalence

Einstein’s famous equation:

E = mc2

E = energy (J)
m = mass (kg)
c = speed of light = 3.0 x108 ms-1
Use your data booklet and E = mc2 to complete the table.

Particle / Symbol Relative Mass Rest Energy

Antiparticle Charge (kg) (MeV)
(in terms of e)

proton p
antiproton  
neutron n
antineutron  
electron e-
positron e+
neutrino ν
0 0 0
antineutrino  

For every matter particle, there also exists a

corresponding antimatter particle, or antiparticle.
[These have the same mass (and rest energy) but opposite charge.]
Use your data booklet and E = mc2 to complete the table:

Particle / Symbol Relative Mass Rest Energy

Antiparticle Charge (kg) (MeV)
(in terms of e)

proton p +1
1.673 x10-27 938.3
antiproton   -1
neutron n 0
1.675 x10-27 939.6
antineutron   0
electron e- -1
9.11 x10-31 0.511
positron e+ +1
neutrino ν
0 0 0
antineutrino  

For every matter particle, there also exists a

corresponding antimatter particle, or antiparticle.
[These have the same mass (and rest energy) but opposite charge.]