English

Multichannel decay: alternative derivation of the $i$-th channel decay probability

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2022-12-07 v1 Quantum Physics

Abstract

In the study of decays, it is quite common that an unstable quantum state/particle has multiple distinct decay channels. In this case, besides the survival probability p(t)p(t), also the probability wi(t)w_{i}(t) that the decay occurs between (0,t)(0,t) in the ii-th channel is a relevant object. The general form of the function wi(t)w_{i}(t) was recently presented in PLB \textbf{831} (2022), 137200. Here, we provide a novel and detailed `joint' derivation of both p(t)p(t) and wi(t)w_{i}(t). As it is well known, p(t)p(t) is not an exponential function; similarly, wi(t)w_{i}(t) is also not such. In particular, the ratio wi/wjw_{i}/w_{j} (for ij)i\neq j) is not a simple constant, as it would be in the exponential limit. The functions wi(t)w_{i}(t) and their mutual ratios may therefore represent a novel tool to study the non-exponential nature of the decay law.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2207.13977,
  title  = {Multichannel decay: alternative derivation of the $i$-th channel decay probability},
  author = {Francesco Giacosa},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2207.13977},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

8 pages. Prepared as a proceedings contribution for the 4th Jagiellonian Symposium on Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine, Jagiellonian University, 10-15/7/2022, Krak\'ow, Poland