IPhO 2018 · Theory problem 2

Where is the neutrino?

When two protons collide with a very high energy at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), several particles may be produced as a result of that collision, such as electrons, muons, neutrinos, quarks, and their respective anti-particles. Most of these particles can be detected by the particle detector surrounding the collision point. For example, quarks undergo a process called hadronisation in which they become a shower of subatomic particles, called "jet". In addition, the high magnetic field present in the detectors allows even very energetic charged particles to curve enough for their momentum to be determined. The ATLAS detector uses a superconducting solenoid system that produces a constant and uniform 2.00 Tesla magnetic field in the inner part of the detector, surrounding the collision point. Charged particles with momenta below a certain value will be curved so strongly that they will loop repeatedly in the field and most likely not be measured. Due to its nature, the neutrino is not detected at all, as it escapes through the detector without interacting.

Data: Electron rest mass, \(m=9.11\times10^{-31}\ \mathrm{kg}\); Elementary charge, \(e=1.60\times10^{-19}\ \mathrm{C}\);

Speed of light, \(c=3.00\times10^8\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}\); Vacuum permittivity, \(\epsilon_0=8.85\times10^{-12}\ \mathrm{F\,m^{-1}}\)

Part A. ATLAS Detector physics (4.0 points)

A.1 — 0.5pt

Derive an expression for the cyclotron radius, \(r\), of the circular trajectory of an electron acted upon by a magnetic force perpendicular to its velocity, and express that radius as a function of its kinetic energy, \(K\); charge modulus, \(e\); mass, \(m\); and magnetic field, \(B\). Assume that the electron is a non-relativistic classical particle.

Electrons produced inside the ATLAS detector must be treated relativistically. However, the formula for the cyclotron radius also holds for relativistic motion when the relativistic momentum is considered.

A.2 — 0.5pt

Calculate the minimum value of the momentum of an electron that allows it to escape the inner part of the detector in the radial direction. The inner part of the detector has a cylindrical shape with a radius of 1.1 meters, and the electron is produced in the collision point exactly in the center of the cylinder. Express your answer in MeV/\(c\).

When accelerated perpendicularly to the velocity, relativistic particles of charge \(e\) and rest mass \(m\) emitt electromagnetic radiation, called synchrotron radiation. The emitted power is given by

\[ P=\frac{e^2a^2\gamma^4}{6\pi\epsilon_0c^3} \]

where \(a\) is the acceleration and \(\gamma=[1-(v/c)^2]^{-1/2}\).

A.3 — 1.0pt

A particle is called ultrarelativistic when its speed is very close to the speed of light. For an ultrarelativistic particle the emitted power can be expressed as:

\[ P=\xi\frac{e^4}{\epsilon_0m^kc^n}E^2B^2, \]

where \(\xi\) is a real number, \(n\), \(k\) are integers, \(E\) is the energy of the charged particle and \(B\) is the magnetic field. Find \(\xi\), \(n\) and \(k\).

A.4 — 1.0pt

In the ultrarelativistic limit, the energy of the electron as a function of time is:

\[ E(t)=\frac{E_0}{1+\alpha E_0t}, \]

where \(E_0\) is the initial energy of the electron. Find \(\alpha\) as a function of \(e\), \(c\), \(B\), \(\epsilon_0\) and \(m\).

A.5 — 0.5pt

Consider an electron produced at the collision point along the radial direction with an energy of 100 GeV. Estimate the amount of energy that is lost due to synchrotron radiation until the electron escapes the inner part of the detector? Express your answer in MeV.

A.6 — 0.5pt

Find an expression for the cyclotron frequency of the electron as a function of time in the ultrarelativistic limit.

Part B. Finding the neutrino (6.0 points)

The collision between the two protons shown in Figure 1 leads to the production of a top quark (\(t\)) and an anti-top quark (\(\bar t\)), the heaviest elementary particles ever detected. The top quark decays into a \(W^+\) boson and a bottom quark (\(b\)), while the anti-top quark decays into a \(W^-\) boson and an anti-bottom quark (\(\bar b\)). In the case depicted in Figure 1, the \(W^+\) boson decays into a anti-muon (\(\mu^+\)) and a neutrino (\(\nu\)), and the \(W^-\) boson decays into a quark and an anti-quark. The task of this problem is to reconstruct the full momentum of the neutrino using the momenta of some detected particles. For simplicity, all particles and jets in this problem will be considered massless, except for the top quark and \(W^\pm\) bosons.

The momenta of the top quark decay products can be determined from the experiment (see Table), except for the neutrino momentum component along the (\(z\)-axis). The total linear momentum of the final state particles caught by the detector is only zero on the transverse plane (\(xy\) plane), and not along the collision line (\(z\)-axis). As such, one can find the transverse momentum of the neutrino from the missing momentum in the transverse plane.

On June 4, 2015, the ATLAS experiment at the LHC recorded a proton-proton collision at 00:21:24 GMT+1 like the one represented in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the ATLAS detector coordinate system (left) and proton-proton collision (right).

The linear momenta of the three final-state particles coming from the top quark decay, including the neutrino, is presented below for each component.

Particle \(p_x\) (GeV/\(c\)) \(p_y\) (GeV/\(c\)) \(p_z\) (GeV/\(c\))
anti-muon (\(\mu^+\)) \(-24.7\) \(-24.9\) \(-12.4\)
jet 1 (\(j_1\)) \(-14.2\) \(+50.1\) \(+94.1\)
neutrino (\(\nu\)) \(-104.1\) \(+5.3\) ---

B.1 — 1.5pt

Find an equation which relates the square of the \(W^+\) boson mass, \(m_{\mathrm W}^2\), with the neutrino and anti-muon momentum components presented in the table above. Express your answer in terms of the neutrino and anti-muon transverse momentum,

\[ \vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)} =p_x^{(\nu)}\hat\imath+p_y^{(\nu)}\hat\jmath \quad\text{and}\quad \vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)} =p_x^{(\mu)}\hat\imath+p_y^{(\mu)}\hat\jmath, \]

and their \(z\)-axis momentum components, \(p_z^{(\mu)}\) and \(p_z^{(\nu)}\).

B.2 — 1.5pt

Assuming a \(W^+\) boson mass of \(m_{\mathrm W}=80.4\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\) calculate the two possible solutions for the neutrino momentum along the \(z\)-axis, \(p_z^{(\nu)}\). Express your answer in GeV/c.

B.3 — 1.0pt

Calculate the top quark mass for each one of the two previous solutions. Express your answer in GeV/\(c^2\).

[If you did not obtain the two solutions in B.2, use \(p_z^{(\nu)}=70\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\) and \(p_z^{(\nu)}=-180\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\).]

The normalised number of collision events for the measurement of the top quark mass (as determined from the experiment), has two components: the so-called "signal" (corresponding to the decay of top quarks) and "background" (corresponding to events from other processes that do not include top quarks). Experimental data include both processes, see Fig. 2.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Top quark mass distribution as determined from the experiment, i.e. the normalised number of events plotted against the top quark mass. The dots correspond to the data. The dashed line corresponds to the "signal" and the shade to the "background".

B.4 — 1.0pt

According to the top quark mass distribution, which one of the two previous solutions is more likely to be the right one? Estimate the probability for the most likely solution.

B.5 — 1.0pt

Calculate the distance traveled by the top quark before decaying, using the most likely solution. Assume the top quark has a mean lifetime at rest of \(5\times10^{-25}\ \mathrm{s}\).

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

Here \(p_{\mathrm T}^{(a)}=|\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(a)}|\).

  • A.1: \(\displaystyle r=\frac{\sqrt{2mK}}{eB}\).
  • A.2: \(\displaystyle p_{\min}=\frac{eBR}{2}=3.3\times10^2\ \mathrm{MeV}/c\).
  • A.3: \(\displaystyle \xi=\frac{1}{6\pi},\qquad n=5,\qquad k=4\).
  • A.4: \(\displaystyle \alpha=\frac{e^4B^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^4c^5}\).
  • A.5: \(\displaystyle \Delta E\simeq55\ \mathrm{MeV}\).
  • A.6: The instantaneous frequency is \[ f(t)=\frac{eBc^2}{2\pi E_0}(1+\alpha E_0t). \] The angular frequency is \(\omega(t)=2\pi f(t)\).
  • B.1: \[ \begin{aligned} \frac{m_{\mathrm W}^2c^2}{2} ={}& \sqrt{\left[(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)})^2+(p_z^{(\mu)})^2\right] \left[(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)})^2+(p_z^{(\nu)})^2\right]}\\ &-\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)} -p_z^{(\mu)}p_z^{(\nu)}. \end{aligned} \]
  • B.2: \(\displaystyle p_z^{(\nu)}\simeq+74.0\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\) or \(\displaystyle -188\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\).
  • B.3: Respectively, \(\displaystyle m_t\simeq169\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\) or \(\displaystyle311\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\).
  • B.4: The \(p_z^{(\nu)}\simeq+74.0\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\) solution is more likely. The plotted probability at its reconstructed mass is approximately \(\displaystyle P\simeq0.12\), or \(12\%\).
  • B.5: The mean distance is \(\displaystyle \bar L\simeq1.9\times10^{-16}\ \mathrm m\).

Solution

A.1

For motion perpendicular to the magnetic field, the magnetic Lorentz force provides the centripetal force:

\[ evB=\frac{mv^2}{r}. \]

Thus \(r=mv/(eB)\). Using the non-relativistic kinetic energy \(K=\tfrac12mv^2\),

\[ \boxed{r=\frac{\sqrt{2mK}}{eB}}. \]

Equivalently, \(r=p/(eB)\), which also applies relativistically when \(p\) is the relativistic momentum.

A.2

Let the detector radius be \(R=1.1\ \mathrm m\). The electron’s circular orbit passes through the collision point, so its orbit centre is a distance \(r\) from that point. Its greatest radial distance from the collision point is therefore \(2r\).

The limiting orbit touches the cylindrical boundary when

\[ 2r=R. \]

The minimum total momentum occurs for motion perpendicular to the solenoid field. Hence the escape threshold is

\[ p_{\min}=eB\frac R2 =(1.60\times10^{-19})(2.00)\frac{1.1}{2} =1.76\times10^{-19}\ \mathrm{kg\,m\,s^{-1}}. \]

Since

\[ 1\ \mathrm{MeV}/c =\frac{10^6(1.60\times10^{-19})}{3.00\times10^8} =5.33\times10^{-22}\ \mathrm{kg\,m\,s^{-1}}, \]

we obtain

\[ \boxed{p_{\min}=3.3\times10^2\ \mathrm{MeV}/c}. \]

Just above this threshold, the orbit crosses the cylindrical boundary.

A.3

For acceleration perpendicular to the velocity, the relativistic transverse equation of motion is

\[ e vB=\gamma ma, \]

so the curvature acceleration is

\[ a=\frac{evB}{\gamma m}. \]

Substitution into the given radiation formula gives

\[ P=\frac{e^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0c^3} \frac{e^2v^2B^2}{\gamma^2m^2}\gamma^4 =\frac{e^4B^2v^2\gamma^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^2c^3}. \]

In the ultrarelativistic limit, \(v\simeq c\), while the total energy is \(E=\gamma mc^2\). Therefore,

\[ P\simeq \frac{e^4B^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^2c} \left(\frac{E}{mc^2}\right)^2 =\frac{e^4E^2B^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^4c^5}. \]

Comparison with the requested form yields

\[ \boxed{\xi=\frac1{6\pi},\qquad n=5,\qquad k=4}. \]

A.4

The magnetic force does no work, so the electron’s energy decreases by the energy radiated:

\[ \frac{dE}{dt}=-P=-\alpha E^2, \]

where, from A.3,

\[ \boxed{\alpha=\frac{e^4B^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^4c^5}}. \]

Integrating with \(E(0)=E_0\),

\[ \int_{E_0}^{E(t)}\frac{dE}{E^2} =-\alpha\int_0^t dt, \]

which gives

\[ \frac1{E(t)}-\frac1{E_0}=\alpha t. \]

Consequently,

\[ E(t)=\frac{E_0}{1+\alpha E_0t}, \]

as stated in the question.

A.5

First check the trajectory curvature. For an ultrarelativistic electron, \(p\simeq E/c\), so its initial cyclotron radius is

\[ r_0\simeq\frac{E_0}{eBc}. \]

Here

\[ E_0=100\ \mathrm{GeV}=1.60\times10^{-8}\ \mathrm J, \]

and therefore

\[ r_0= \frac{1.60\times10^{-8}} {(1.60\times10^{-19})(2.00)(3.00\times10^8)} =1.67\times10^2\ \mathrm m. \]

Since \(r_0\gg R=1.1\ \mathrm m\), the path through the detector is almost straight. Thus

\[ t_{\rm exit}\simeq\frac Rc =\frac{1.1}{3.00\times10^8} =3.67\times10^{-9}\ \mathrm s. \]

Using the supplied constants,

\[ \alpha =\frac{e^4B^2}{6\pi\epsilon_0m^4c^5} =9.39\times10^{12}\ \mathrm{J^{-1}\,s^{-1}}, \]

and

\[ \alpha E_0t_{\rm exit}=5.51\times10^{-4}. \]

The energy lost is

\[ \Delta E =E_0-\frac{E_0}{1+\alpha E_0t_{\rm exit}} =\frac{\alpha E_0^2t_{\rm exit}} {1+\alpha E_0t_{\rm exit}}. \]

Numerically,

\[ \Delta E=8.81\times10^{-12}\ \mathrm J =55.1\ \mathrm{MeV}. \]

Thus, to sensible precision,

\[ \boxed{\Delta E\simeq55\ \mathrm{MeV}}. \]

This is only about \(5.5\times10^{-4}\) of the initial energy, confirming that the radius remains very large throughout the flight.

A.6

The instantaneous angular rate of rotation of the momentum is

\[ \omega=\frac vr=\frac{eB}{\gamma m}. \]

Using \(E=\gamma mc^2\),

\[ \omega(t)=\frac{eBc^2}{E(t)}. \]

Substituting the result of A.4,

\[ \boxed{\omega(t)=\frac{eBc^2}{E_0}(1+\alpha E_0t)}. \]

The ordinary frequency, measured in cycles per second, is therefore

\[ \boxed{f(t)=\frac{eBc^2}{2\pi E_0}(1+\alpha E_0t)}. \]

Both increase linearly with time within the ultrarelativistic approximation.

B.1

Four-momentum conservation in \(W^+\to\mu^++\nu\) gives

\[ E_{\mathrm W}=E_\mu+E_\nu, \qquad \vec p_{\mathrm W}=\vec p^{(\mu)}+\vec p^{(\nu)}. \]

The invariant mass of the two-particle system satisfies

\[ m_{\mathrm W}^2c^4 =(E_\mu+E_\nu)^2 -c^2\left|\vec p^{(\mu)}+\vec p^{(\nu)}\right|^2. \]

Both daughter particles are treated as massless, so

\[ E_\mu=c|\vec p^{(\mu)}|, \qquad E_\nu=c|\vec p^{(\nu)}|. \]

The individual energy–momentum terms cancel on expanding the invariant:

\[ m_{\mathrm W}^2c^4 =2\left(E_\mu E_\nu -c^2\vec p^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p^{(\nu)}\right). \]

Now

\[ |\vec p^{(a)}| =\sqrt{(p_{\mathrm T}^{(a)})^2+(p_z^{(a)})^2}, \]

and

\[ \vec p^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p^{(\nu)} =\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)} +p_z^{(\mu)}p_z^{(\nu)}. \]

Hence the requested relation is

\[ \boxed{ \begin{aligned} \frac{m_{\mathrm W}^2c^2}{2} ={}& \sqrt{\left[(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)})^2+(p_z^{(\mu)})^2\right] \left[(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)})^2+(p_z^{(\nu)})^2\right]}\\ &-\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)} -p_z^{(\mu)}p_z^{(\nu)}. \end{aligned}} \]

B.2

Define

\[ q=p_z^{(\nu)},\qquad \ell=p_z^{(\mu)},\qquad a=(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)})^2,\qquad b=(p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)})^2, \]

and let

\[ p_\mu=|\vec p^{(\mu)}|,\qquad D=\frac{m_{\mathrm W}^2c^2}{2} +\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)}. \]

The equation from B.1 becomes

\[ p_\mu\sqrt{b+q^2}=D+\ell q. \]

Squaring and using \(p_\mu^2-\ell^2=a\),

\[ a q^2-2D\ell q+p_\mu^2b-D^2=0. \]

Its roots are

\[ q=\frac{D\ell\pm p_\mu\sqrt{D^2-ab}}{a}. \]

The measured components give

\[ \begin{aligned} a&=24.7^2+24.9^2 =1230.1\ (\mathrm{GeV}/c)^2,\\ b&=104.1^2+5.3^2 =10864.9\ (\mathrm{GeV}/c)^2,\\ p_\mu&=\sqrt{24.7^2+24.9^2+12.4^2} =37.2003\ \mathrm{GeV}/c,\\ \vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\mu)}\cdot\vec p_{\mathrm T}^{(\nu)} &=(-24.7)(-104.1)+(-24.9)(5.3)\\ &=2439.3\ (\mathrm{GeV}/c)^2,\\ D&=\frac{80.4^2}{2}+2439.3 =5671.38\ (\mathrm{GeV}/c)^2. \end{aligned} \]

Thus the two numerical roots are

\[ q_+=73.9532\ \mathrm{GeV}/c, \qquad q_-=-188.2937\ \mathrm{GeV}/c. \]

Both satisfy the original, unsquared equation. Therefore,

\[ \boxed{p_z^{(\nu)}\simeq+74.0\ \mathrm{GeV}/c \quad\text{or}\quad -188\ \mathrm{GeV}/c}. \]

B.3

The top quark decays into the anti-muon, neutrino and bottom-quark jet. Conservation of energy and momentum gives

\[ E_t=E_\mu+E_\nu+E_{j_1}, \qquad \vec p_t=\vec p^{(\mu)}+\vec p^{(\nu)}+\vec p^{(j_1)}. \]

Because all three decay products are treated as massless,

\[ E_t=c\left( |\vec p^{(\mu)}|+|\vec p^{(\nu)}|+|\vec p^{(j_1)}| \right). \]

The jet momentum magnitude is

\[ |\vec p^{(j_1)}| =\sqrt{(-14.2)^2+50.1^2+94.1^2} =107.5475\ \mathrm{GeV}/c. \]

Writing \(q\) as its numerical value in \(\mathrm{GeV}/c\),

\[ E_t= \left[37.2003+107.5475+\sqrt{10864.9+q^2}\right]\mathrm{GeV}, \]

and

\[ \vec p_t=(-143.0,\ 30.5,\ 81.7+q)\ \mathrm{GeV}/c. \]

The reconstructed top mass follows from

\[ m_t^2c^4=E_t^2-c^2|\vec p_t|^2. \]

Keeping extra digits during the calculation gives:

Neutrino solution \(E_\nu\) (GeV) \(E_t\) (GeV) \(p_{tz}\) (GeV/\(c\)) \(m_t\) (GeV/\(c^2\))
\(q_+=73.9532\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\) 127.804 272.552 155.653 169.344
\(q_-=-188.2937\ \mathrm{GeV}/c\) 215.219 359.967 \(-106.594\) 311.183

Therefore,

\[ \boxed{m_t\simeq169\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2 \quad\text{for }p_z^{(\nu)}>0}, \]

\[ \boxed{m_t\simeq311\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2 \quad\text{for }p_z^{(\nu)}<0}. \]

B.4

The mass \(169\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\) lies close to the maximum of the distribution in Figure 2, whereas \(311\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\) lies in its small upper tail. The positive-\(p_z^{(\nu)}\) solution is therefore more likely.

Reading the ordinate of the plotted total-distribution curve near \(169\ \mathrm{GeV}/c^2\) gives

\[ \boxed{P\simeq0.12\quad\text{or approximately }12\%}. \]

The corresponding reconstructed neutrino momentum is

\[ \boxed{\vec p^{(\nu)} \simeq(-104.1,\ +5.3,\ +74.0)\ \mathrm{GeV}/c}. \]

B.5

For the more likely solution,

\[ \vec p_t=(-143.0,\ 30.5,\ 155.653)\ \mathrm{GeV}/c, \]

so

\[ |\vec p_t|=213.558\ \mathrm{GeV}/c. \]

The top quark’s Lorentz factor and speed are

\[ \gamma_t=\frac{E_t}{m_tc^2} =\frac{272.552}{169.344} =1.609, \]

\[ \beta_t=\frac{|\vec p_t|c}{E_t} =\frac{213.558}{272.552} =0.7836. \]

The mean lifetime in the detector frame is \(\gamma_t\tau_0\). Thus the mean distance travelled is

\[ \bar L=v_t\gamma_t\tau_0 =\beta_t\gamma_t c\tau_0 =\frac{|\vec p_t|c}{m_tc^2}\,c\tau_0. \]

Substitution gives

\[ \bar L =\frac{213.558}{169.344} (3.00\times10^8)(5\times10^{-25}) =1.89\times10^{-16}\ \mathrm m. \]

Therefore,

\[ \boxed{\bar L\simeq1.9\times10^{-16}\ \mathrm m}. \]

This is a mean distance because the supplied rest-frame lifetime is a mean lifetime.

The solution was checked against the official solution.