What are the alternative techniques that scientists may have tried to investigate the existence of various subatomic particles and related theories.
I don't think so. Look at the huge investment in making large accelerators. Then, what is the probability that two fast moving charged particles will collide head-on. Precise detection of what follows and, interpretation of enormous data are additional requirements. There has to be some alternative simpler approach to break atomic particles.
How can I cope with "there has to be" argument?
The head-on collision of two oppositely moving particles is the most efficient way of producing new particles and probing deeper into the structure of matter. These two particles should, preferably be point-like ones, e.g. electrons or muons.
Relativity limits, indeed, the speed but this is not relevant. The relevant quantity is energy and relativity does not impose any limit on it.
I agree that present-day accelerators may not be the most efficient way of producing such collisions, yet, they are the best way known to us. The size is partly dictated by the acceleration gradient that can reach 10-50MeV/m. Some groups work on generating much higher gradients which will allow much smaller accelerators.
Still, you should bare in mind that the task of investigating objects which are 10^-18m inn size is difficult no matter what you do.
Ehud
Ehud, Using particle accelerators is one approach to break particles for investigating matter at even smaller level. Increasing energy of fast moving charged particles is going to be an endless loop. Is there any alternative approach to achieve the same objective as one does with the particle accelerators.
Hi Anuj,
well, it may look disappointing but in order to penetrate deeper you need higher energy, Having said so, there is a way around it. Rather than creating the new particles you may relay on Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and look for the minute effect caused by such particle when they are exchanged between other particles. Let me try and explain it. Particles usually interact by exchanging other particle(s). An electron is repelled by another electron since the photons that are exchanged between the two electrons carry the info that these two electrons will "benefit" (have lower energy) by moving apart. Due to the uncertainty principle a very heavy particle may be exchanged between the electrons (or any other particles in a collision). It may be so heavy that the electrons do not have enough energy to produce it, but it can still be produced by violating the energy conservation low, if it is allowed to exist for a very short time, During this short time it may leave some detectable reminder of its existence.
One of the common observables of such a particle is a minute change in the decay modes (the way and frequency in which a particle decays into others). So, now I can eventually come to the point - rather than pushing the energy higher and higher one can look for unexpected changes in the decay modes of a given particle. So one will need huge number of particles instead.
In practice that is what LHCb is doing. They study b-hadrons in great detail and they may be the ones who will see the first deviation from the Standard model.
Sorry for the length, hope it is nevertheless clear.
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