[Physics] Where does $W$ boson mass come from in neutron decay

conservation-lawsfeynman-diagramsmassstandard-modelvirtual-particles

Here's a diagram of neutron decay.

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Up and down quarks have rest masses of 2-4 MeV. The $W$ boson has a rest mass of 80 GeV.

Where has this extra mass come from?

Best Answer

You have drawn a Feynman diagram.

Feynman diagrams are iconic shorthand for integrals over the variables of the problem. The calculation gives the probability for the reaction to happen, in this case the decay of a neutron .

The observables are the four vectors of the initial (neutron) and final particles. The integral is over the variables .

Here is a simpler labeled diagram

feynman diagram

The Feynman diagram for the Coulomb interaction (electric force), along with the parts of the Feynman integral they correspond too. Every part of this is really nasty. For example, that "g" is actually 16 numbers.

This is the expression that has to be integrated over the limits of the variables.

The electric force (what physicists call the “Coulomb force” to look smart) is mediated by photons. That is to say, particles with charge push or pull on each other using photons. The diagram above is the “first order Feynman diagram” for two electrons repelling each other. The probability amplitude of two electrons with momentum p and k pushing off of each other and flying off again with momentum q and l is given by:

amplitude

If you’re wondering which particles are virtual and which are real: virtual particles are the ones stuck inside the diagram and real particles are the ones going in and coming out (they might go on to be detected somewhere).

The incoming lines represent real particles, and also the outgoing lines. The line in between represents the functions under the integral. This line has to carry the charge and quantum numbers that conservation laws impose. In addition there exists a function under the integral, called a propagator, which has in the denominator the mass of the named particle. In the case above it is the photon's zero mass.

Under the integral the four vector of this "photon" line cannot have zero mass because of the spread of the variables of integration, so it is off mass shell and called a virtual photon.

In your diagram for neutron decay the corresponding denominator is ((p-q)^2-m_W^2). The large mass is crucial and represents together with the coupling constant, the "weakness" of the interaction. That is why the internal line is identified with the W. It has all the quantum numbers but a variable mass of the four vector it represents. It is called virtual for this reason.

The W boson mass comes within the integral represented by the diagram, in the denominator of the propagator. The line represents an off mass shell virtual W.

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